InfraCo Africa invests U$43m to launch a new climate-focused infrastructure fund for Africa
London, United Kingdom, 9th August: InfraCo Africa, the African development arm of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), today announced a US$43 million anchor investment into Climate, Energy Access and Resilience (CLEAR), a climate-focused fund advised by Helios Investment Partners (Helios). The design of the CLEAR Fund was refined and realised by PIDG and InfraCo Africa through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s ‘MOBILIST’ Sustainable Infrastructure Competition. MOBILIST supports investment solutions looking to list on global or local stock exchanges that help emerging and frontier markets spur progress towards UN Global Goals and deliver the climate transition.
During the COP26 summit held in November 2021, the UK government renewed their commitment to PIDG and announced their support for the CLEAR Fund, and its intention to list its assets on a major stock exchange in due course, through the MOBILIST programme. Today’s announcements follow on from this commitment to address a growing demand from domestic and international investors for sustainable investment opportunities across Africa. Drawing on PIDG and Helios’ distinctive blend of private sector development and investment expertise, and track record of delivering impact in Africa, CLEAR will fund climate-aligned assets and growth opportunities whilst also contributing towards achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
InfraCo Africa’s CEO, Gilles Vaes highlighted the strength of the partnership saying: “By working alongside Helios to design the CLEAR Fund, we have brought together Helios’ deep expertise of fund management and generating growth with our proven track record in developing greenfield infrastructure in frontier markets, with a strong focus on development impact. The result of this collaboration is an innovative fund which addresses today’s global challenges around climate change and the need for transparent, sustainable investment opportunities. CLEAR also offers a new opportunity for African infrastructure developers, such as ourselves, to either sell down equity and recycle development funding or to secure a credible partner to support future growth. CLEAR provides a missing piece of the puzzle and one which will be critically important if we are to accelerate action on climate change whilst also closing the infrastructure gap in Africa.
CLEAR Chair, Diana Fox Carney, commented saying: “The race is on to identify solutions that will help us meet the enormous climate challenge that we face - including adapting to a changed climate. Working at the interface of the public and private sectors, the CLEAR Fund will play a key role in mobilising capital for Africa’s low carbon development pathway. Many low carbon technologies have now reached a level of maturity that makes them not just cleaner, but also cheaper and more reliable than the traditional alternatives. This is a win for Africa, a win for investors, and a win for the world.”
CLEAR Co-Head, Tavraj Banga, elaborated by saying: “We are delighted to have InfraCo Africa and MOBILIST as our anchor investors; two organizations committed to our goal of accelerating Africa’s role in the transition to global net zero. CLEAR will leverage Helios’ two decades of experience of successfully investing in Africa to identify and develop best-in-class climate solutions. We will focus on investments that enable emissions to be decoupled from economic growth, while helping build adaptive capacity to allow the population to cope with the risks of climate change – improving the health and lives of Africans.”
Ross Ferguson, MOBILIST Lead, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, commented: “Collaboration between development finance institutions and the private sector is critical to directing investment towards sustainable development and the climate transition in emerging and frontier markets. The partnerships behind CLEAR Fund show how public sector finance can work effectively with the private sector to ‘exit’ their investments, to create the conditions for listing and mobilise private capital into African economies.”
Philippe Valahu, CEO of PIDG, concluded by saying: “By acting as an anchor investor for the CLEAR Fund, PIDG through InfraCo Africa is delivering on our climate commitments” He continued, “PIDG was established to mobilise private sector investment into sustainable and inclusive infrastructure. The CLEAR Fund will support our efforts to achieve this at scale, providing a complementary route for investors to channel finance into high-quality, climate-resilient infrastructure on the continent.”
In developing CLEAR, Helios and InfraCo Africa have benefited from the support of ThirdWay Partners, an impact focused investment advisory firm.
Notes to Editors
Developing economies need over US$2.5 trillion annually to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals.
Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, the international community committed to mobilise US$100 billion of climate finance annually to support developing countries in their respective pathways to net zero, a target that has yet to be realised.
In 2021, FCDO launched its flagship public markets programme ‘Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures’ (“MOBILIST”). MOBILIST competitively sources and selects dedicated emerging and frontier market investment products. The programme identifies and supports new, commercially viable investment products looking to list on global and local stock exchanges. The goal is to increase the flow of private sector capital towards development and climate financing in emerging and frontier markets.
FCDO’s work on mobilisation includes programmes with and through the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (in particular British International Investments (BII) and the multilateral PIDG). It also includes financial sector programmes such as Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA).
Both sponsors have market-leading African credentials:
Helios: With US$3.6 billion AuM, Helios is a pioneering investment firm, founded and led by Africans; with 18 years of experience, the firm has made investments in 34 companies operating in over 30 countries across the continent and has a strong record of generating growth with impact while advancing the development of African capital markets. The firm’s portfolio includes several companies at the forefront of delivering clean energy and enabling decarbonisation across Africa. Helios, a B Corp-certified firm, is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), and a supporter of the UN SDGs and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure.
InfraCo Africa (a PIDG company): A leading co-developer in Africa with an existing pipeline of 29 renewable power (on and off-grid), transport, logistics and social infrastructure projects. Alongside a robust pipeline, InfraCo Africa brings significant operational and technical knowledge of high-quality green and ESG-focused asset management. Through the PIDG group, it is also a supporter of the UN SDGs and signed up to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure.
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG): PIDG is an innovative infrastructure project developer and investor which mobilises private investment in sustainable and inclusive infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and south and south-east Asia. PIDG investments promote socio-economic development within a just transition to net zero emissions, combat poverty and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PIDG delivers its ambition in line with its values of opportunity, accountability, safety, integrity and impact. Since 2002, PIDG has supported 190 infrastructure projects to financial close which provided an estimated 220 million people with access to new or improved infrastructure. PIDG is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Germany and the IFC www.pidg.org
InfraCo Africa: InfraCo Africa is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and seeks to alleviate poverty by mobilising investment into sub-Saharan infrastructure projects. It does this by investing directly into early-stage projects or by funding experienced teams to provide project development leadership. Through its investments arm, InfraCo Africa can also provide equity to close a financing gap and start construction or fund innovative solutions that need support to scale-up, to pilot new products or enter new markets. InfraCo Africa is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom (through FCDO), the Netherlands (through DGIS) and Switzerland (through SECO). To find out more visit: www.infracoafrica.com
Helios Investment Partners: Established in 2004, Helios Investment Partners is the largest Africafocused private investment firm, with a record that spans creating start-ups to providing expanding companies with growth capital and expertise. The firm is led and managed by a predominantly African team based in London, Paris, Lagos and Nairobi, with the language skills and cultural affinity to engage with local entrepreneurs, managers and intermediaries on the continent. Helios leverages its local and global networks to create attractive proprietary investment opportunities, with an emphasis on building market leaders in core economic sectors and driving performance through a highly engaged approach to portfolio operations. The firm’s unique combination of a deep knowledge of the African operating environment, a singular commitment to the region and a proven capability to manage complexity, is reflected in its diverse portfolio of growing, market-leading businesses and its position as a partner of choice in Africa. Helios is the largest emerging markets-focused private equity firm, and second mainstream private equity firm globally, to receive B Corp certification. B Corp status recognizes the firm’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices. For more information please visit: www.heliosinvestment.com
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO): FCDO pursues the UK’s national interests and seeks to project the UK as a force for good in the world. FCDO promotes the interests of British citizens, safeguards the UK’s security, defends its values, reduces poverty and tackles global challenges alongside international partners. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office
MOBILIST: Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST) supports investment solutions that help developing countries achieve the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and climate transition. With the UK government’s backing, MOBILIST deploys funds, conducts research and builds partnerships that direct capital towards environmentally and socially positive investment opportunities in African, Asian and Latin American emerging and frontier markets. For more information please visit: https://mobilistglobal.com/
ThirdWay Partners: ThirdWay Partners was established by a team of investors and entrepreneurs with over 75 years of combined experience in corporate finance, strategy consulting, international private equity and capital markets, together with a long business track record in Africa. For more information please visit: https://www.thirdwayafrica.com/
