The Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company managed by Ninety One, acted as a co-anchor investor alongside IFC and Proparco in IHS Holding Limited in the $1.2 billion bond issuance to support digital connectivity in Africa.
The bond was oversubscribed in excess of $2.3 billion, and upsized to $1.2 billion, enabling increased participation from private investors. The proceeds of the bond will refinance existing debt of the emerging market focused communications infrastructure company and support organic growth in its African subsidiaries including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia.
Private debt is increasingly being mobilised to address Africa’s infrastructure financing gap, with corporate bonds gaining traction as innovative solutions to attract local and global investors.
EAAIF said “it has anchored IHS Towers’ maiden bond in 2016, reinforcing the Fund’s position as a leading pioneer of corporate debt for telecommunications companies in Africa. Since 2016, EAAIF has allocated over $283 million to bond issuances by dynamic African telecom and digital infrastructure providers, contributing to more than $5.6 billion raised in total.
“EAAIF’s commitment to deepening Africa’s capital markets helps overcome funding challenges in emerging markets and reinforces the PIDG strategy to deploy innovative infrastructure that accelerates Africa’s economic transformation.”
Investment specialist, Ninety One, EAAIF’s fund manager, Folatomi Fayemi said, “we are delighted to continue to support IHS Towers as it expands operations across the continent, extending access to transformative digital services that will shape Africa’s fourth industrial revolution.
“Over the past eight years, EAAIF has led the development of corporate debt to support this critical sector. We will continue to serve as a pioneer in the space, overcoming funding challenges to provide innovative solutions that engineer growth in ambitious companies.”
Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) is a blended finance vehicle that raises and deploys public and private debt capital to transformative infrastructure projects across Africa, the Levant and South and Southeast Asia.
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