Africa Finance Corporation has issued a first green bond worth GBP 126 million. It is reported that the financial institution will use the proceeds from the issuance of the first green bond to finance or refinance green projects in Africa. This will be similar to the Djibouti wind farm and Singrobo hydro dam in Ivory Coast. It even issued the green bond under the corporation’s $5 billion Global Medium-Term Note programme which is expected to mature in 2025.
Moody’s has rated the bond as A3 which points to the fact that it has an upper-medium grade and low risk. The bond has expected to run for five years and it is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, media reports said.
Africa Finance Corporation chief executive and president Samaila Zubairu, told the media, “The successful outcome of our debut green bond is therefore another important milestone in our strategy of building a diverse coalition of investors for Africa’s sustainable development. Further access to climate finance should accelerate the development and financing of climate mitigation and adaptation projects required to make Africa more resilient to the impact of climate change.”
It is reported that Credit Suisse and Renaissance Capital were joint lead-managers and bookrunners for the deal. Africa Finance Corporation has several projects in focus and among them is funding for redevelopment and modernisation of a port in Mauritania. In addition, there are an array of green projects including a solar energy business in Sierra Leone and Liberia. These projects recently secured private equity funding, media reports said.