- AFC plans to raise $2bn in 3 years to fund climate-resilient projects.
- The funds will be mobilised by the AFC’s new asset management arm.
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) plans to set up a fund to mobilise $500 million (€423m) over the next 12 months and $2 billion over the next three years to mitigate the effects of climate change in Africa. The AFC’s recently established asset management arm, AFC Capital Partners, will manage the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF). AFC Capital will serve as a direct investor and a co-investment fund to improve infrastructure, including clean energy and logistics, ports, roads, bridges, rail, telecommunications.
The asset manager will be led by Ayaan Zeinab Adams, former Private Sector Facility Director for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and a former CIO and senior manager of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). Ayaan Zeinab Adams noted that to survive the impacts of climate change; there is a need for financing to construct resilient infrastructure. “Much of this investment is compatible with competitive returns for investors through leveraging the expertise, relationships, and blended finance models that have been tried and assessed for many years by Africa Finance Corporation,” she added.