InfraCo Africa announced an $43 million anchor investment into the Climate, Energy Access and Resilience (CLEAR) fund, the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) ‘s division for developing Africa. Climate-focused fund CLEAR is advised by Helios Investment Partners . Through the ‘MOBILIST’ Sustainable Infrastructure Competition of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the CLEAR Fund was developed and realized by PIDG and InfraCo Africa. MOBILIST promotes investment strategies that are aiming to list on national or international stock exchanges and assist developing and frontier markets in advancing the UN Global Goals and bringing about the climate transition.
Gilles Vaes, CEO of InfraCo Africa, emphasized the strength of the partnership by saying: “By working with Helios to design the CLEAR Fund, we have combined Helios’ extensive expertise in fund management and generating growth with our demonstrated track record in developing greenfield infrastructure in frontier markets, with a strong focus on development impact. An innovative fund that addresses current global concerns related to climate change and the demand for transparent, sustainable investment options is the result of this collaboration. Additionally, CLEAR presents a fresh chance for African infrastructure developers like ourselves to either sell down shares and reuse development capital or find a reliable partner to aid in future expansion. If we’re going to speed up the fight against climate change and close the infrastructure gap in Africa, CLEAR fills in a vital puzzle piece that has been missing.
The race is on to find solutions that will help us tackle the massive climate problem we face, including adapting to a new climate, said CLEAR Chair Diana Fox Carney. The CLEAR Fund, which operates at the intersection of the public and private sectors, will be crucial in raising money for Africa’s low-carbon development pathway. Many low-carbon technologies have now developed to the point where they are not only more reliable and cost-effective than the conventional alternatives, but also cleaner. Africa, investors, and the entire world benefit from this.
We are thrilled to have InfraCo Africa and MOBILIST as our anchor investors; these two organizations are dedicated to our goal of advancing Africa’s contribution in the transition to global net zero, said Tavraj Banga, Co-Head of CLEAR. To find and create world-class climate solutions, CLEAR will draw on Helios’ 20 years of successful investing in Africa. In order to improve the health and quality of life of Africans, we will concentrate on investments that allow emissions to be decoupled from economic growth and contribute to the development of adaptive capacity.
“Collaboration between development financing institutions and the private sector is crucial to channeling investment towards sustainable development and the climate transition in developing and frontier markets,” said Ross Ferguson, MOBILIST Lead, Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. In order to “exit” their investments, to set up the framework for listing, and to mobilize private capital into African countries, the partnerships behind CLEAR Fund demonstrate how efficiently public sector finance can collaborate with the private sector.
“By acting as an anchor investor for the CLEAR Fund, PIDG through InfraCo Africa is delivering on our climate commitments,” said Philippe Valahu, CEO of PIDG, in closing. “PIDG was established to mobilize private sector investment into inclusive and sustainable infrastructure,” he continued. The CLEAR Fund will assist us in achieving this on a large scale by giving investors an additional way to invest in high-caliber, climate-resilient infrastructure on the continent.
During the COP26 summit that was held in November of last year, the UK government confirmed its support for the CLEAR Fund and reaffirmed its commitment to PIDG. Through the MOBILIST program, the fund plans to list its assets on a significant stock market in due time. This commitment to meet the rising demand from domestic and foreign investors for sustainable investment possibilities throughout Africa led to the announcement of this investment into the CLEAR fund. CLEAR will finance climate-aligned assets and growth opportunities while also helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. CLEAR will draw on PIDG and Helios’ unique blend of private sector development and investment expertise, as well as their track record of delivering impact in Africa.
Helios and InfraCo Africa have benefited from the assistance of ThirdWay Partners, , an impact-focused investment advice firm, in developing CLEAR.
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