DEG and Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund Ltd. conclude cooperation agreement
More long-term funds for infrastructure projects in Africa
DEG and the EAIF signed a cooperation agreement in Cologne today to further strengthen their cooperation. DEG has been supporting the fund that finances private-sector infrastructure projects in Africa since its establishment in 2002. Its volume accounts for around 620 million US-dollars. DEG has an investment worth approx. 30 million US-dollars, 25 million of these in form of a subordinated loan. With a seat on the supervisory board, DEG plays an active role in the corporate political steering of the fund.
Bruno Wenn, Chairman of DEG's Board of Management, and Nick Rouse, Managing Director EAIF, sign the cooperation agreement.
EAIF finances infrastructure projects in countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya. It has to date invested into about 20 projects of private enterprises. Its sector focuses mainly include energy supply and telecommunications. Among them are, for instance, mobile telecommunications projects aiming at an improved offer of affordable telecommunications services or power stations utilising renewable resources like water or geothermal energy for power generation. About half of these projects are co-financed by DEG, for example, the geothermal power station Olkaria III in Kenya, built and operated by a private enterprise.
The fund was founded by the multi-state Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), which provided the equity of the fund. Members of PIDG are, among others, the British DFID and further European institutions of development cooperation as well as the IFC (World Bank Group). KfW has been a PIDG member since 2009.
Together with the Dutch FMO and the South African DBSA, DEG has provided the fund with a subordinated tranche totalling approximately 85 million US-dollars. Moreover, first-ranking loans of further finance institutions have been granted making up a total of almost 300 million US-dollars with KfW Bankengruppe contributing around one-third of this amount.
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