British International Investment Commits £1.09bn To African Firms

British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has committed £1.09 billion to African companies in 2024 to create jobs, reduce aid dependency and combat the climate emergency.

The sum was nearly 40 per cent more than its 2023 total of £725 million, despite the difficult investment environment caused by macroeconomic headwinds.

BII’s total net assets increased to £9.9 billion from £8.5 billion in 2023, while post-tax profits improved to £213.3 million compared with a £44 million loss in 2023.

The figures are contained in BII’s annual review, which was published yesterday. About 62 per cent of investments were made in African companies while businesses in Asia received 36 per cent (£626 million). Commitments to companies with operations in both continents received £29 million.

In total, BII invested $903 million (£708 million) in climate finance in 2024, representing 41 per cent of its overall commitments for the year.

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This compares with just $104 million (£80 million) in 2020. The company’s climate finance assets now make up over 26 per cent of its entire portfolio, up from just over 15 per cent in 2020. Over the last three years, BII has invested over $2 billion in climate finance.

Based on all direct renewable energy investments in BII’s 2023 portfolio, 1.5 million tons of CO2e emissions were avoided on an attributed basis, a 54 per cent year-on-year increase. This was driven by a growing renewable asset base in the portfolio and increases in the amount of renewable power produced.

BII also made £499 million of gender finance commitments in 2024 and £880m of commitments to the poorer and most fragile countries across the regions where it invests.

Managing director and head of Africa at BII, Chris Chijiutomi, stated, “BII is a trusted and long-term partner to African nations and the continent’s world class community of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

“Our 2024 investment performance demonstrates our unwavering commitment to supporting African companies at a time when investment to create quality jobs, reduce aid dependency and meet the challenge of the climate emergency has never been more vital.”

The chair of BII, Diana Layfield said, “in a constrained financial environment, BII’s ability to put capital to work repeatedly to secure development impact, while also delivering a financial return for the UK taxpayer, is particularly valuable.

“In an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical environment, our investments, which support emerging economies to grow, create jobs, and develop sustainable infrastructure to mitigate climate change and its impacts are critically important.”