Dubai, 02 October 2024 – ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), a leading pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks, has announced a significant capital raise of US$443 million.
The funding includes a strategic US$300 million investment from Afreximbank’s development impact investment arm, The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), securing Afreximbank’s FEDA a significant stake in ARISE IIP. Additionally, the capital raise is supported by an additional US$143 million contribution from Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). This investment builds on debt funding relationship of over 12 years between ARISE IIP and Afreximbank, during which about US$2 billion has been provided to support ARISE IIP’s investments across Africa.
ARISE IIP’s total equity capital now exceeds US$1 billion, with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) holding a majority stake, followed by Afreximbank’s FEDA and Equitane as key shareholders.
This significant capital injection is strategically aligned with both entities’ objectives to catalyse industrial transformation across Africa. The funds are intended to accelerate ARISE IIP’s fast expansion and operational efficiency across its 12-country portfolio, that comprises key markets such as Malawi, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Gabon, DRC, Congo, Chad, and Nigeria.
This investment is anticipated to strengthen Africa’s position in global value chains, aligning with Afreximbank’s mandate to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
Gagan Gupta, Founder and CEO of ARISE IIP said about this partnership: “This equity partnership with Afreximbank significantly enhances our financial capacity to execute our pan-African industrial development strategy. It’s a strong vote of confidence in our business model and growth prospects.”
President & Chairman of Board of Directors at Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, stated: “We are very pleased with our latest investment in ARISE IIP which is aligned with Afreximbank’s strategic pillars of promoting intra African Trade and facilitating industrialisation and export development across Africa. The capital boost will arm ARISE IIP with the financial muscle needed to drive Africa’s industrialisation, promote intra and extra-African trade, job creation and the general economic growth of our continent.”
Marlene Ngoyi, CEO of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), stated: “Our investment in ARISE IIP is a critical step towards fostering sustainable industrial growth across Africa. By supporting the development of high-impact industrial infrastructure, we are helping to create an environment that will drive economic diversification, boost value-added production, and position Africa as a key player in global trade.”
Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC said: “I would like to thank the board and management for their unwavering support in our shared mission to transform African economies. Our journey towards capturing greater value within the continent, by converting raw materials into intermediate and finished goods, has already shown significant progress in three countries, with an expanding pipeline of projects in ten more. This success reinforces our commitment to further support and invest in this important initiative, including our latest equity investment of $143 million. We are also delighted to formally welcome Afreximbank-FEDA as a new shareholder, having previously supported us through debt financing. Their participation, alongside other prospective investors, is a testament to the strength and de-risked nature of our ecosystem value chain industrial platform. We look forward to continuing our partnership to drive industrialization and sustainable economic growth across Africa.”
About African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a pan-African multilateral financial institution dedicated to financing and promoting intra and extra-African trade. For 30 years, Afreximbank has deployed innovative instruments to provide financing solutions that facilitate the transformation of African trade structure and accelerate industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby supporting economic expansion in Africa. A staunch advocate of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Afreximbank launched the operations of a pan-African payment and settlement system (PAPSS), which was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to support the implementation of the AfCFTA. The AfCFTA Secretariat and the Bank have established a 10 billion US dollar Adjustment Fund to assist countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. As of the end of December 2023, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at approximately US $37.3 billion, and its shareholders’ funds amounted to US $6.1 billion. Afreximbank is rated A by GCR International Scale, Baa1 by Moody’s, A- by Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), and BBB by Fitch. Over the years, Afreximbank has evolved into a group comprising the Bank, its impact financing subsidiary called the Africa Export Development Fund (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (the three entities form “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. afreximbank.com
About FEDA (Fund for Export Development in Africa)
The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”) is the impact investment subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (“Afreximbank” or the “Bank”) set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa.
FEDA pursues a multi-sector investment strategy along the intra-African trade, value-added export development, and manufacturing value chain which includes financial services, technology, consumer and retail goods, manufacturing, transport & logistics, agribusiness, as well as ancillary trade enabling infrastructure such as industrial parks. fedagroup.org
About AFC
AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.
Seventeen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 43 member countries and has invested US$13 billion across Africa since inception
