Nigeria: AFC Launches U.S.$750m Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund Nigeria

What the report says

AFC Capital Partners, the asset-management arm of Africa Finance Corporation, has launched the U.S.$750 million Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund Nigeria, according to Daily Trust via AllAfrica. The fund is designed to draw domestic institutional capital into climate-resilient infrastructure projects in Nigeria and, more broadly, across Africa. It is registered with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission as a closed-end fund.

The initiative is meant to give pension fund administrators, insurers, asset managers and other Nigerian institutional investors a route into commercially viable projects with both economic and climate benefits. The fund will focus on sectors such as renewable energy, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure and industrial development, while screening investments for physical and transition climate risks.

The report says the wider ICRF platform has attracted support from major international and African institutions, including a U.S.$253 million first-loss commitment from the Green Climate Fund, which is described as its largest equity investment in Africa so far. Other backers listed include the European Investment Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and several African pension funds.

AFC expects the fund to help mobilize up to U.S.$3.7 billion in total financing for a portfolio of 10 to 12 projects. In broader context, climate-focused blended-finance vehicles like this are often used to reduce risk and encourage private investment in infrastructure that can better withstand climate pressures.