Africa50, the Morocco-based infrastructure investment platform, plans to more than double the value of projects it supports to at least $20 billion over the next five years, as it steps up investment in power, transport and other critical sectors across Africa.
The fund, established by African governments in 2015, has so far co-invested in 36 projects with a combined value of around $9 billion. Its portfolio spans electricity generation and transmission, transport, logistics, digital infrastructure and healthcare.
Africa50 Chief Operating Officer Tshepidi Moremong said the organisation intends to significantly increase the scale of its investments in the coming years.
“We are really looking to see how at least over the next several years, we can look to double or triple that number from a value perspective,” Moremong said.
Africa50 has directly committed roughly $500 million in equity to its existing projects and intends to prioritise sectors where financing shortages remain particularly severe, including electricity generation and transmission networks.
Moremong said the fund wants the total value of projects it co-invests in to reach “$20 billion and above” within the next five years.
One of its major recent initiatives is a $311 million public-private partnership involving India’s PowerGrid and the Kenyan government to develop high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure.
Africa50 has also backed electricity generation projects in Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and Madagascar, as well as an information and communications technology project in Rwanda and regional healthcare ventures.
The expansion comes as African countries continue to face a major infrastructure funding deficit. The African Development Bank estimates the continent’s annual infrastructure financing gap at more than $100 billion, with pressures increasing as development assistance from wealthier countries declines.
Alongside conventional investments, Africa50 is expanding a model that allows it to lease and operate existing infrastructure assets while providing governments with upfront payments.
Under one such agreement, the fund operates the Senegambia Bridge connecting Senegal and Gambia. Africa50 collects toll revenues while assuming responsibility for maintenance and upgrades and making lump-sum payments to the authorities.
Moremong said this asset-management model could eventually represent around 20% to 25% of Africa50’s overall portfolio.
The strategy reflects a broader push to attract private capital into African infrastructure as governments seek alternative financing sources for costly energy, transport and digital projects.
