British International Investment

Atlantic Coast Regional Fund

AfricaGhanaMauritaniaNigeriaSenegalWest AfricaAfricaConstruction & Real estateConsumer - HealthFinancial servicesFood & Agriculture

The Atlantic Coast Regional Fund (ACRF) is a mid-market fund that focuses on sector-agnostic investments in countries on or near Africa’s Atlantic Coast, from Morocco to Angola.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

In November 2013, CDC committed $18.4 million to a new rights issue in the ACRF, taking its overall commitment to the fund to $33.4 million.

The fund targets investments of around $5 million to $15 million.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

While many of the fund’s target geographies are experiencing economic growth, many operate in difficult business environments.

Mid-market companies in these regions are still struggling to raise external finance. Local banks are often under-capitalised and under-skilled, and funding from foreign banks and capital markets is largely unavailable.

Our investment enables the fund manager to address this shortage and target companies in need of expansion capital.

It focuses on businesses that are well positioned for local or regional growth in the agricultural, financial services, light manufacturing and logistics sectors, supporting wider economic growth and job creation.

The fund has invested in a Ghanaian real estate development firm, a bus assembly firm, a mine drilling services company and three subsidiaries of pan-African bank Ecobank.

Environmental and social information

  • Environmental and social summary

    A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.

  • Environmental and social risk

    A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.

Environmental and social summary

We worked closely with the fund manager to develop and implement a robust ESMS.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    June 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D11
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    Africa
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Construction & Real estate, Consumer - Health, Financial services, Food & Agriculture

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Fund
    Start date :
    November 2013
    Amount :
    $18.43m
    Currency of investment :
    USD
    Fund Manager:
    Advanced Finance and Investment Group
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Mauritius

Related investments made by BII into this fund:

Investment name Commitment Region Sector Start date Status
Investment 01 $15m Africa Construction & Real estate, Consumer - Health, Financial services, Food & Agriculture August 2008 Active

Investments made by this fund into companies:

For further information about these companies, visit http://www.afigfunds.com/

Investment name Country Region Sector Start date Status
FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd. Nigeria West Africa Financial services November 2016 Active
Nigerian-German Chemicals Plc Nigeria West Africa Consumer - Health December 2014 Active
Primrose Properties Ghana Ghana West Africa Construction & Real estate April 2015 Active
RMG Concept Limited Africa Africa Food & Agriculture April 2011 Active

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