The Scoop
Gemcorp Capital — an emerging markets investor that has deployed more than $9 billion, primarily in Africa — is consolidating some units to create an operating platform focused on executing projects.
The new company, Imbono, will focus on solving a problem that faces investors in Africa and other emerging markets: projects that are financed but never fully delivered, its CEO Marcus Weyll told Semafor.
Headquartered in Dubai, with Angola as its operational hub for Africa, Imbono will execute energy, water, logistics, and food security projects. The company will also look at opportunities in Latin America and Indonesia, in addition to its core African footprint, which includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.
“Bringing only financing doesn’t actually solve the problem” in countries that have institutional and infrastructure gaps, Weyll said. “Someone has to execute projects to completion,” adding that “70% of projects have cost overruns.”
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Imbono sits between investors and governments, acting as an owner-operator from design through construction and long-term operations. “There needs to be a layer executing a project, working with the finance ministries, regulators, municipalities, and construction companies,” Weyll said.
The model builds on Gemcorp’s work in complex markets, including the Cabinda oil refinery in Angola, the country’s first since independence. Imbono has around 600 direct employees and roughly 10,000 working indirectly through contractors.
Gemcorp has been expanding its Gulf presence, raising Africa-focused funds out of Abu Dhabi and a Saudi-focused fund in Riyadh. It has partnered with Angola’s sovereign wealth fund on infrastructure vehicles targeting energy, water, food security, and critical minerals. These efforts are part of a growing Gulf-Africa investment corridor that has prompted a surge of announced commitments from the region to Africa in recent years.
Weyll did not provide specifics about the next projects Imbono will execute, but said the pipeline is up to $10 billion and that the long-term ambition exceeds that. By “de-risking” investment in infrastructure projects, he expects capital to flow more efficiently into Africa and other emerging markets.