Investec Asset Management has been appointed to manage the $670m (€487m) Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).

The South-African company will manage the public/private partnership anchored by the governments of the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. 

Lenders also include private sector financial institutions and development-finance institutions.

EAIF, part of the donor-financed Private Infrastructure Development Group, was launched in 2002 to mobilise capital into private sector infrastructure projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

The fund finances African infrastructure projects through long-term debt and mezzanine finance, in addition to investing in sustainable businesses with skilled management teams and clear potential to improve economies and help reduce poverty.

Investec’s appointment follows a tender process that brought interest from more than 30 companies.

The company will manage project sourcing, loan applications, due diligence and the administration of transactions.

Investec will also market the fund internationally and monitor the loan portfolio. 

Investec will integrate the fund and the EAIF team into its African investment platform.

Nazmeera Moola, co-head of Africa fixed income at Investec, will head EAIF operations.

She said: “The large demand for funding on the continent and the necessity for effective infrastructure development provides a strong investment backdrop. This offers a compelling entry point into the long-term African growth story.”

Hendrik du Toit, chief executive at Investec Asset Management, said the private sector had a “crucial role to play in unlocking conditions for the sustainable, long-term development” of Africa’s infrastructure.

“A major initiative of its kind globally, this fund aims to provide growth capital, expertise and support to these projects with the aim of stimulating economic development, encouraging growth and employment, and fuelling Africa’s long-term development,” he said.

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