The bank has agreed to invest $20m in the ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF), a new infrastructure private equity fund based in Nigeria with a targeted size of $250m.
ARMHIF has been set up to invest, through equity, in infrastructure projects and companies across West Africa, with a main focus on Nigeria. It will invest in assets across a range infrastructure sectors including energy, transport, ICT, water and utilities.
Mouhamadou Niang, acting director of the AfDB’s private sector department, said: "The Bank’s support to ARMHIF will contribute toward the delivery of modern and reliable infrastructure that will reduce the cost of doing business and enhance the region’s competitiveness."
"We are very pleased to have an institution of the calibre of the AfDB as an anchor investor in our new fund," added Opuiyo Oforiokuma, managing director, ARM Infrastructure. "AfDB has been instrumental in attracting the interest of other investors, including Nigerian Pension Funds, a sector that has a significant role to play in providing long term capital for funding infrastructure development in Nigeria and beyond."