Accelerating infrastructure financing in Africa

Investec, a leading financial services provider, has made a significant move by backing Africa's first export finance impact fund as its anchor investor. The announcement comes at a crucial time when financing for Africa's infrastructure development has been a pressing issue with estimates soaring into the high hundreds of billions of dollars. In an interview with CNBC Africa, Investec's Global Head of Export and Agency Finance, Brian Irvine, shed light on the fund's creation and its potential impact on the African continent. The fund has been developed as an open platform to attract global capital, not limited to Investec alone. It has garnered interest from multilaterals, development banks, and commercial banks, laying the groundwork for a collaborative effort to address Africa's infrastructure financing gap. With a focus on responsible lending, the fund aims to target projects valued at around two billion dollars, spanning sectors such as renewable power, healthcare, water scarcity, and green transportation throughout the continent. By leveraging Export Credit Agency (ECA) supported financing, the fund plans to co-invest in uncovered tranches of projects, amplifying the impact of investments and ensuring project delivery. This initiative aligns with the investment mandate of climate-aligned and socially impactful projects, fostering sustainable development on the continent. As the fund aims to work in partnership with export credit agencies, there is a notable appetite among investors and financial institutions to participate in funding critical infrastructure projects. The fund has already attracted interest from family offices, impact investors, and African commercial banks, signaling a positive response from the financial sector. Notably, the fund's approach of investing in uncovered project tranches fills a crucial gap in project funding, enabling the completion of projects that would have otherwise struggled to secure financing. The emphasis on collaboration and responsible investment underscores the fund's commitment to driving positive change in Africa's infrastructure landscape. With a call to action for additional investors to join the initiative, the fund sets a precedent for innovative financing models that prioritize sustainability and social impact. Brian Irvine emphasized the importance of working together to bridge the infrastructure financing gap and drive economic growth in Africa. The fund's potential to unlock opportunities for sustainable development and address pressing social infrastructure needs positions it as a catalyst for change in the continent's infrastructure sector.