eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and ILX Management BV, have signed a partnership agreement to mobilise institutional investor capital for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate-focused private sector projects across African countries.
This comes as the continent, Zimbabwe included, is battling the scourge of climate change although contributing little to next to zero to greenhouse gas emissions, which have fuelled climate induced disasters such as tropical cyclones and droughts.
The cooperation aims to bridge the financing gap required to meet the bank’s High Five priorities: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialise Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
ILX’s investors are Dutch pension fund asset managers APG Asset Management and Achmea Investment Management, with other Dutch and European pension fund participants expected to join in the future.
The ILX Fund I provides a scalable US$1 billion private credit investment strategy to be deployed across emerging and developing countries, co-financing with global Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and other development finance institutions (DFIs).
The partnership will enable the AfDB to deliver on its ambition to mobilise financial resources from institutional investors, while allowing ILX Fund pension fund participants to benefit from the Bank’s successful investments in key economic sectors across Africa.
The loan investments will focus on SDG or Climate Finance and offer attractive risk-adjusted returns combined with robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) safeguarding.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KfW, the German Development Bank and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office supported ILX’s role in mobilising large-scale pension fund capital for the leading MDBs and other DFIs in support of their SDG and climate-finance-related investments in emerging markets.
The Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the African Development Bank Group, Hassatou N’Sele, commented on the partnership, stating, “Our objectives are aligned and the African Development Bank has a strong track record of structuring and financing projects with a strong development impact.”
Meanwhile, Manfred Schepers, Founder and CEO of ILX, expressed delight in establishing the strategic partnership, demonstrating AfDB’s commitment to engaging with European pension funds as a key partner in its mobilisation effort.
