received more than US$200 million in funding
typically 3 to 6 months
InfraCo Africa seeks to alleviate poverty by mobilising private sector expertise and finance to develop infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa’s poorer countries. InfraCo Africa’s support reduces the risks and costs associated with early stage project development and ensures projects are developed to the highest standards, from concept to financeable investment opportunity. It is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG): it is managed as a private company although funded by governments in the UK (DFID), the Netherlands (DGIS) and Switzerland (SECO).
The PIDG Trust, the governments of the UK, the Netherlands, and Switzerland
Although InfraCo Africa is publicly funded, they operate as a private company and are managed by a Board of industry leaders. Their Board members also sit on our Project Review Committee and use their experience to select projects and guide their development.
InfraCo Africa is currently looking for new projects to invest into and support through early-stage development. Projects must: be within sub-Saharan Africa; be within power, water or transport sectors; have the potential to be commercially viable (with our support); have a positive developmental impact on the communities they serve; need InfraCo Africa to bring something additional, something that no other party can bring to the project; and be developed in accordance with our Operating Policies and Procedures.Our mandate is to mobilise and not displace private sector investment so we will not get involved in a project if it could attract all of the financing it requires from other private or DFI investors.
It has developed projects across sub-Saharan Africa. It prioritises Least Developed Countries (LDC), Other Low Income Countries (OLIC) and Fragile or Conflict-Affected States (FCAS) – as defined by the OECD.
Whether committing risk capital at the beginning of a project or equity financing construction or operations, InfraCo Africa will always first obtain approval from the PIDG Investment Committee (IC). Before submitting an investment to the IC, InfraCo Africa conduct a thorough due diligence of the project or business and its stakeholders (steps 1 and 2 below). InfraCo Africa can commit funding prior to the financial close of a project to support its development (step 3) or at the point a project is ready to commence construction (step 4) or into an innovative operating business that needs support to scale-up or prove commercial viability (step 5). See here.