AfDB $40m for Africa infrastructure

The Board of Directors, African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), has approved its third equity investment of US$40 million in Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF3), a closed-ended pan-African infrastructure fund managed by South Africa-based Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).

AIIM is one of Africa’s most experienced infrastructure fund managers. The fund will focus on acquiring positions of significant influence in roads, airports, rail links, bridges, ports, logistics, power generation, utility distribution, as well as telecommunication assets. AIIF3 boasts an extensive pipeline of bankable or near-bankable infrastructure projects. Having reviewed hundreds of potential investments, AIIM has narrowed down a pipeline of circa US$ 500 million, including key projects such as Bugesera Airport, Libreville Bypass, and Kampala-Jinja Expressway.

The proposal represents AfDB’s third investment with this fund manager, following a 1996 investment in SAIF and a 2010 investment in AIIF2. With this, AfDB stands to have positive additional role through this investment, given that the fundraising market continues to be very challenging, leaving an important role to be played by DFIs.

Commercial and institutional investors are likely to view AfDB’s investment as a positive demonstration effect, and the investment will also ensure the highest environmental and social standards are applied to AIIF3.

In terms of development outcomes, AIIF3 will create a quantifiable and measurable social and environmental impact by supporting energy and transport infrastructure access across Sub-Saharan Africa, and it will support the creation of over 1,500 jobs at the project level and enhance capacity building and skills transfer.