Tech in Africa
African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), has completed a successful USD370 million fund capital increase for its flagship SADC region infrastructure fund – The IDEAS Fund, one of the region’s largest domestic infrastructure equity fund that invests in an economic, social, and renewable energy infrastructure fund.
The raise exceeds the fund’s initial target of USD301m by 20% raising the size fund size to USD1.475bn. The money will go towards its current mandate that exposes investors to a diversified portfolio of sustainable infrastructure assets. Supported is the deployment of an active pipeline of assets across the power, digital infrastructure, and transport sectors over the coming three years in sync with current long-term economic and environmental sustainability goals.
In the past, IDEAS primarily targeted opportunities in renewable energy by allocating 75% of the funds toward investment in the sector. Today their contribution equates to 25% of South Africa’s clean energy supply grid, offsetting 3.7 million tCO2 equivalents in 2020 power 1.1 million households with clean energy. AIIM and IDEAS are now key players in South Africa’s clean energy transition.
In the press release, Vuyo Ntoi, AIIM co-Managing Director pointed out that the market has reached an inflection point where “public policy support catalysing healthy deal flow and increasing private sector investor appetite.”
The new commitments were secured by 19 key South African institutional and pension fund investors with new fund investors making up two-thirds of the funds committed. The investor appetite capitalized on recent interest in alternative assets and expected amendments to Regulation 28 look to support increased allocation to infrastructure assets from South Africa’s pension industry. This is further supported by the recognition of infrastructure as a key asset class in the delivery of impact across a wide investment portfolio. AIIM is one of Africa’s largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers.
