African infrastructure investor Africa50 plans to raise the value of its portfolio to $20 billion over the next five years, an executive told Reuters. The Casablanca-based fund has backed more than 30 projects in 32 countries spread across multiple sectors, with a current combined value of about $9 billion.
Africa receives only about 5% of global infrastructure investment, and the share of the continent’s annual GDP invested in infrastructure is at only half of the UN’s 7% benchmark for sustainable development, according to the continent’s private capital association. The continent’s annual infrastructure investment gap is at about $170 billion, the African Development Bank said last year. Africa50’s flagship investments include power plants in Cameroon, Kenya, and Madagascar, as well as in data center projects in Ghana and Kenya.