Private investment in Africa's critical infrastructure

Published 26 January 2006

A fund is set up to encourage private businesses to build and maintain critical infrastructure on the dark continent

We heard of people who went to Africa to do good and did very well. Here is an opportunity to do good while doing well: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has just signed an agreement with the London-based InfraCo, a donor-funded infrastructure development group, for a $30 million line of credit to support the identification and development of infrastructure investments and attract increased private sector investment in frontier markets. Infrastructure investment in the poorer developing countries is insufficient to fund needs, leaving millions without access to basic services. Some regions, particularly Africa and parts of Asia, have not had the same levels of private investment in public services as other parts of the developing world.

InfraCo was established by the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), which is a collaboration of donor governments and multilaterals, including DFID (United Kingdom), SECO (Switzerland), SIDA (Sweden), DGIS (the Netherlands), and the World Bank. Working in partnership with local and international sponsors, InfraCo’s aims to enable and support the mobilization of private sector investment and engagement in the provision of infrastructure and basic services. InfraCo is currently developing projects in the water, energy, transport, and other sectors in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Francisco Tourreilles, director of IFC’s Infrastructure Department, says: “IFC is delighted to partner with InfraCo on this important initiative that will help fill a void in the market. By supporting the upstream development of private infrastructure projects, InfraCo will help attract much needed capital and commercial financing to these sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa and frontier countries in Asia.” Keith Palmer, chairman of InfraCo, commented, “IFC’s support in helping us address the market need for bankable, well-developed projects in critical infrastructure for underserved markets is very welcome. We look forward to developing a strong collaboration.”

-read more at InfraCoWeb site