EAIF secures A2 credit rating from Moody's

Moody’s has affirmed the long-term foreign-currency issuer rating of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a multi-donor financing mobilizer at A2, with a stable outlook.
EAIF says this endorsement is a pointer to its strong capital position and highly rated shareholder base.
Founded in 1991, EAIF says has concluded nine rounds of raising funds for infrastructure development in the past two decades.

Global rating agency Moody’s has affirmed the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) long-term foreign-currency issuer rating at A2, with a stable outlook.

According to the Jo’burg-based fund, this endorsement signals its “strong capital position, and highly rated shareholder base,” a pointer to resilience in Africa’s infrastructure financing market.

“We are delighted that EAIF’s consistent track record of performance – despite a challenging macroeconomic operating environment – has been reflected in our retention of the A2 rating,” said Martijn Proos, Co-head of Emerging Market Alternative Credit at Ninety One, the fund manager for the EAIF.

“We already provide long-term, patient capital to transformative infrastructure projects in 20 African countries, and we are advancing plans to enter selected emerging and frontier markets in South and Southeast Asia,” Proos added.

In an update, EAIF also attributed the endorsement to its broad portfolio and “proven ability to raise funding from a group of prestigious commercial and institutional investors.”

“It also underscores the Fund’s consistent track record of performance since Moody’s first issued the A2 rating in 2022,” the Fund explained.

EAIF focuses on projects in Africa

Energy, transportation, mining, and agriculture projects are critical industries across African economies, where the EAIF directs its financing. Other industries within its portfolio of financing, now an estimated $1.05 billion, are telecoms, gas transportation, water and waste management, and infrastructure equipment investments.

Last year, EAIF committed over $274 million spread along nine new infrastructure investment deals in 10 African economies. The fund channeled the financing to digital and cloud technologies, transport, and power/energy sectors.

Other recent investment highlights by the EAIF are:

$50 million towards Africa’s first fully electric public bus network in Dakar City, Senegal.
A $33 million sustainability-linked loan was made to Raxio Group, a pan-African data center developer and operator.
$30 million loan to Eastcastle Infrastructure, a company that owns, operates, and develops shared telecom tower infrastructure across Africa
€35 million senior loan for developing Ivory Coasts’ 46MW biomass power plant, the largest facility in West Africa.
€11.5 million loan for developing West Africa’s first project-financed solar PV plant and battery energy storage system. This plant is based in Bokhol, Senegal.
€46 million financing for extending and upgrading the A1 motorway in Dakar, Senegal. This will be the first toll road project in Western Africa under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
$48 million to launch West Africa’s first-ever social asset-backed security, modernize the power sector, and contribute towards building universal access to electricity in Ivory Coast.

Key investors where EAIF has been drawing financing

Some critical investors under its portfolio are insurance giant Allianz, the UK’s Department for International Development, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Others are the Dutch Directorate-General for International Cooperation, the Dutch Development Bank, the German Development Bank, and the African Development Bank Group.

Established in 1991, EAIF says that it has concluded nine rounds of raising funds for infrastructure development in the past two decades. EAIF has raised over $1.68 billion from various approaches, including direct foreign investments, commercial lenders, and financing from institutional investors.

“Our efforts have directly benefited 159 million people through EAIF-funded projects, and we are ready to do more as we advance our plans to enter selected emerging and frontier markets in South and Southeast Asia,” the Fund noted in an update.

Last year, EAIF said it raised a total of $294 million in debt, marking a historic milestone as one of its most significant capital raised in recent years.