Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and IL&FS Investment Managers sign agreement to establish $1bn Africa-focused infrastructure financing fund
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), and the IL&FS Investment Managers Limited (IIML), the private equity arm of IL&FS Group, signed a Shareholder Agreement to establish an infrastructure Fund focused on Africa.
Mr. Khaled Al-Aboodi, Chief Executive Officer of ICD, and Mr. Krishna Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of IIML signed the agreement in Jeddah.
ICD and IIML will collaborate to establish this Fund in order to finance small to mid-sized infrastructure projects in the member countries with a focus on Africa. The Fund will target mainly the power and transportation sectors and will promote integrated projects within Africa.
It will be the first of its kind, financing fund following Sharia’h principles and targeting all the impactful sub-sectors within the infrastructure sector, which includes healthcare, transportation, utilities, power and telecom industries.
The aim of the fund is to finance commercially viable projects and deliver more sustainable and thus catalyzing infrastructure for private sector development mainly on the continent of Africa.
Mr. Khaled Al Aboodi explained, “This strategic cooperation brings complementarity between our institutions to realize a common vision. A vision of providing demonstrable development impact through private sector intervention in, the much needed, infrastructure sector in Africa, which is in line with ICD and IsDB Group strategy. This fund leverages on ICD’s current direct financing and investment strategy in this sector for a multiplier effect through partnership with private sector investors/LPs participating in the fund”.
Mr. Krishna Kumar said, “Exciting times ahead with the realization of the MoU signed a few years ago between IL&FS Group and ICD, has culminated into a joint venture Shareholder Agreement today to jointly manage this strategic and unique fund. IL&FS Group’s project development and infrastructure asset management capability across all the sub-sectors in infrastructure in India and the wider-Asian region as well as recently in Africa gives us a unique edge to partner with a premier MDB like ICD to accelerate private sector intervention in the infrastructure sector on the African continent”.
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