Despite the global economic downturn, foreign investors are still making big bets on Africa, one of them being the UK’s development finance arm, British International Investment (BII).
BII plans to invest a whopping $6 billion in Africa over the next 5 years. The funding will be invested in various forms including debt and equity financing, particularly in climate technology.
CEO of BII, Nick O’Donohoe, specifically noted that over the next 5 years, at least 30% of the value of BII’s total new commitments will be in climate finance.
This is great news for South Africa as the country has been making significant efforts to attract funding for its clean energy transition.
BII will also invest in renewable energy, digital infrastructure and women-owned businesses. The BII investment will be determined by the size and development needs of the economy.
Aside from South Africa, countries that are in strong consideration include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Kenya.
In addition, BII plans to invest in funds. It will contribute $76 million to the $500 million African Infrastructure Investment Fund being backed by South African equity fund Old Mutual.
Curiously, government-owned BII’s $6 billion dollar funding is unavailable to government-owned businesses or projects. The funding is limited to the private sector and there are no comments about why from the BII.
Prior to this, the BII has made significant equity investments in African companies like fibre company Liquid Intelligent Technologies and power producer Globeleq.
