Page 5 - AfrElec Week 34 2022

AfrElec INVESTMENT AfrElec

EAIF to riase $500mn by 2025

to fund African projects

AFRICA THE Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund Africa from investors looking for bigger returns
(EAIF) plans to raise $500mn over the next than they can get in Europe and the US.
three years to support various projects on the It previously raised $385mn of debt capital in
continent. 2018 with global insurance giant Allianz Global
EAIF needs the new capital to embark on its Investors participating in the round. Other
next growth phase after having raised $385mn investors include Standard Chartered Bank, the
in 2018, said its director, Martijn Proos. African Development Bank (AfDB), the Ger-
“We are open to Africa, we are open for busi- man development finance institution KFW, and
ness where there are good opportunities,” he the Dutch development bank FMO.
told the news agency in an interview. Ninety EAIF has an active current loan portfolio of
One, which is listed in London and Johannes- $1.15bn in projects spread across 17 African
burg, manages the fund. countries and infrastructure including power,
The EAIF is part of the Private Infrastructure telecommunication and transportation. Its
Development Group, which is a multi-donor loans range from a minimum of $10mn to
organisation with members from seven coun- $65mn per project, for as long as 20 years. More
tries and the World Bank Group. It was estab- than 151.4mn people are benefitting from its
lished in 2001 and is substantially funded by projects that have also created 23,704 perma-
the governments of the UK, the Netherlands, nent and 34,650 short-term jobs, EAIF says on
Switzerland and Sweden. It provides mainly its website.
debt capital and its total investment is $23.5bn “We are proud to initiate a rating with
in over 90 projects on the continent. Moody’s, which recognises the fund’s unique
In an effort to bolster interest from investors, business model, 20-year track record of success
Proos said the fund this week received its first- and conservatively levered balance sheet. The
ever credit rating, from Moody’s Investors Ser- A2 rating evidences our ability to take on and
vice, a foreign currency long-term issuer rating proactively manage risk to deliver returns and
of ‘A2’ with a ‘stable’ outlook. generate sustainable development impact,” said
The fund is banking on increased interest in Proos, according to a release on August 22.™

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