Africa50 and Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital, partner to deploy structured finance instruments to fund sustainable infrastructure in Africa
Paris, 23 June 2023 – Africa50, the pan-Africa infrastructure investment platform, and Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital (Blue like an Orange), a recognized player in private debt in Latin America, announced today, a partnership to mobilize private capital to invest structured finance/ mezzanine instruments in African infrastructure-focused companies and projects.
The strategic partnership between the two organizations will leverage their strong track records, global and regional networks, and complementary capabilities to crowd in more institutional capital to bridge the infrastructure funding gap in Africa. The partnership seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns and sustainable infrastructure to propel Africa’s economic growth.
The partnership was announced on the sidelines of the New Global Financing Pact in Paris, which primarily focused on climate, development, debt, and ways to deploy innovative financing solutions to fund infrastructure to stimulate economic growth.
“Africa’s infrastructure needs are significant, and so are the opportunities”, said Alain Ebobissé, CEO, Africa50. “It is important to leverage innovative financing models and instruments to tap into new pools of investors, and that is why this partnership with Blue like an Orange is important. It brings together like-minded institutions to address the infrastructure gap on the continent”, Mr. Ebobisse added, during the announcement of the partnership in Paris.
Blue like an Orange, with extensive experience in emerging markets, particularly in Latin America, together with Africa50, brings its expertise and emerging market know-how to the African infrastructure landscape.
A Managing Partner and Founder of Blue like an Orange, Bertrand Badré said “Structured credit is an essential instrument to finance infrastructure widely understood. This has been our experience in Latin America over the past 6 years. We are looking forward to share and scale up our experience in Africa with the innovative partnership we intend to deploy in Africa with Africa50. Public and private cooperation is of the essence if we want to be up to the expectations raised in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in París this week“.
About Africa50:
Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa's growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, catalyzing public sector capital, and mobilizing private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact. Africa50 currently has 34 shareholders, comprised of 31 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib. For more information, visit: www.africa50.com.
About Blue like an Orange:
Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital is a leading player in financing companies and projects that deliver both strong market-risk-adjusted returns and positive social impact in support of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Blue like an Orange is a recognized thought leader in sustainability with a long-standing experience in impact assessment and measurement. Blue like an Orange has already deployed close to US$ 300 million in 23 investments in Latin America since 2018. Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital's founding partners are Bertrand Badré, Rashad Kaldany and Emmanuelle Yannakis. For more information, visit: www.bluelikeanorangecapital.com
Media Contact:
Africa50: Nana Boakye-Yiadom, Senior Communications Coordinator, Tel: +212666166308, n.boakyeyiadom@africa50.com
Blue like an Orange: Augustin Degroote, Blue like an Orange
E-mail: investor.relations@blueorangecapital.com
Category: Press Release