Tag: DFC

Asset finance company Tugende raises US$3.6m in series A funding

Frank

UGANDA – Tugende, a technology-enabled asset finance company, has raised US$3.6 million equity financing in its Series A round of funding. The investors who took part in the round include San Francisco and Paris-based VC firm, Partech, and Enza Capital. The investment follows the US$6.3 million raised in November 2020 and led by Toyota Tsusho investment fund Mobility 54 bringing Tugende’s total Series A financing to US$9.9 million. Founded in Kampala, the capital of Uganda by Michael Wilkerson in 2012, the company provides a technology-based medium for micro, small and medium…

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Investment firm SunFunder closes US$70m solar energy fund

Frank

AFRICA – Investment company SunFunder, a company specializing in solar energy, has completed the financial mobilisation for its Solar Energy Transformation (SET) fund worth US$70 million. The multi-investor fund has been closed thanks to an investment by Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB). The SET Fund was launched by SunFunder with the aim of accelerating the electrification process in Africa and this financing mechanism has attracted many other investors like Swedfund which injected US$12 million in September 2020. The fund has also received investment from American Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Calvert Impact…

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DFC and Shell Foundation partner to invest US$145m on renewable energy in Africa and Asia

Frank

AFRICA – The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Shell Foundation have signed a partnership to strengthen their investments in renewable energy in Africa and Asia to the tune of US$145 million by 2025. The two partners are thus committed to mobilising the resources to support the African private sector, particularly small electricity producers who install clean energy systems in rural areas. As part of the partnership, DFC is committed to providing US$100 million in debt and equity to support early-stage companies. For its part, the Shell Foundation aims…

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Africell wins mobile telecommunication operator licence in Angola

Frank

ANGOLA – Africell Holding. Africa-focused mobile network operator, has secured a mobile telecommunications operator’s licence in Angola, joining three other operators Movicel, Unitel and Angola Telecom which are already serving the country. Africell is a holding company of telecommunications operations with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom with operations in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone. In 2018, the company secured a US$100 million loan from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to fund an expansion strategy that included growing mobile payments and micro-finance offerings, alongside upgrading its 2G,…

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Africa Finance Corporation secures US$250m from DFC to strengthen investment capacity

Frank

AFRICA – Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an investment grade multilateral finance institution, has secured a US$250m tier-2 capital loan from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The facility will strengthen AFC’s investment capacity by enabling it to provide competitive financing solutions for closing Africa’s infrastructure deficit. It also further complements AFC’s strategy of diversifying its investor base. “Africa and the United States have enjoyed a longstanding partnership spanning several decades. Indeed, AFC has partnered with the US on several infrastructure initiatives, including the Power Africa initiative, and regularly receives investments from US-based investors in…

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US’ DFC set to launch US$100m Investment Fund for local entrepreneurs

Frank

MOROCCO – US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has announced that it will operate a US$100 million fund focusing on promoting opportunities while tackling endemic problems facing Morocco that require innovative solutions from local entrepreneurs. The fund is part of a new partnership between DFC and the Small Business Assistance Fund. It aims to support small and medium-sized businesses across Morocco running in the sectors of water, healthcare, energy, agriculture, clean energy, and sanitation. This is part of a US$5 billion budget that the DFC will invest in Morocco and…

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AFC secures US$250m million tier-2 capital loan from DFC to strengthen investment capacity

Frank

NIGERIA – Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading infrastructure solutions provider in Africa, has announced that it has successfully secured a US$250 million tier-2 capital loan from U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The facility to AFC, which consists of a US$250 million tier-2 capital loan, will strengthen AFC’s investment capacity by enabling it to provide competitive financing solutions for closing Africa’s infrastructure deficit. It also further complements AFC’s strategy of diversifying its investor base.  “Africa and the United States have enjoyed a longstanding partnership spanning several decades. Indeed, AFC…

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Nkhotakota Solar Power Plant in Malawi gets US$67m backing from ATI to fill critical energy gap

Frank

MALAWI – The Nkhotakota Solar Power Plant, one of Malawi’s first commercial scale independent solar power projects, has received US$67 million from Africa Trade Insurance Agency and is expected to add a significant 37 MWac of clean energy to the national capacity, currently estimated at 362 MWac. The solar plant, which is being developed in two phases of 21 MWac and 16 MWac, is the second renewable energy project to be backed by the African Trade Insurance Agency’s (ATI), Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF). ATI, through the RLSF, is providing…

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Attracting private sector capital is key in closing infrastructure finance gap in Africa -AfDB

Frank

AFRICA – Greater private sector involvement in infrastructure projects is key in closing the infrastructure financing gap in Africa, however more has to be done to make Africa projects more attractive, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said. According to AfDB, private sector investors develop cold feet when it comes to investing in infrastructure projects in Africa because of the high risk that come with investing in such projects. The continent’s largest development finance institutions have however reaffirmed their commitment in boosting the number of bankable projects that will attract…

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Solar home systems provider, Lumos secures US$35m from DFC to scale up operations in Nigeria

Frank

NIGERIA – Lumos, Africa’s solar home system provider, has secured US$35m from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to expand its existing market for reliable, accessible and clean solar power in Nigeria. The new financing will enable Lumos to produce an additional 160,000 solar home systems (SHS) to meet ever-increasing demand from homes and businesses across the country. Currently, more than 160 million people in Nigeria have poor or no access to the electricity grid. Hundreds of thousands of new Lumos solar home systems will enable close to a million…

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