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Meridiam closes additional funding round for its Infrastructure Africa Fund

Fund management firm Meridiam announces the successful reopening of its Infrastructure Africa Fund with now a total of EUR 546 million. Among others the fund invested in the Tulu Moye geothermal project in Ethiopia.

Meridiam announces today the closing of the reopening of its Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund (MIAF) for a total amount of EUR546 million, above its initial target of EUR510 million. Launched in 2015, for an initial amount of EUR207 million, the initial commitment has already been fully invested two years before the end of the investment period. At the end of this closing, it is now 2.5 times bigger than at the beginning.

This operation demonstrates the strong enthusiasm and confidence of Meridiam’s partners for this fund, the proposed projects and the important development prospects in Africa. With this closing, Meridiam consolidates its position as the leading investment platform on the African continent for greenfield infrastructure projects that have a positive impact on the climate, the environment and communities.

The Africa Fund is the first Meridiam portfolio to systematically apply to all its projects the sustainable development criteria and objectives established by the United Nations in 2015 (UN SDGs). 100% of the projects undertaken by Meridiam are SDG 9 certified according to UN standards. They aim to build a resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization that benefits all and encourage innovation. And nearly half of them are also renewable energy projects on the continent (SDG 7).

To support this commitment, Meridiam has developed its own methodology with clear principles and measurable indicators. The environmental, social and governance impact of all its projects is measured according to the geographical and/or socio-economic context, technical design and relations with public authorities. Results and indicators are monitored and evolve throughout the project, with a view to continuous improvement. They are regularly reported to investors.

This fund has already financed and developed 14 major projects for Africa amounting to more than EUR 3 billion, including:

Meridiam’s MIAF fund is more than 70% supported by private investors, including leading European pension funds and insurers. As well as by leading development finance institutions, for the remaining 30%.

The reopening of the fund was subscribed to by 50% of the historical and existing partners, which demonstrates their confidence in the quality of the projects carried out but also in the prospects for future investments.

In Africa, Meridiam has a team of 20 people working in two regional offices in Dakar (Senegal) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

For Thierry Déau, CEO of Meridiam: “The Africa Fund reflects our ambition, strategy and expertise: to develop and invest in sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects that improve the quality of people’s life and provide them with essential services. We are already involved in emblematic projects in Africa for a total amount of more than EUR3 billion. Today, by more than doubling the size of our fund, we are taking our ambition for the development of the continent even further and acting for future generations.”

Source: Company release

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