The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed $50 million in long-term subordinated debt to Nigeria’s Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Plc (InfraCredit), strengthening the company’s capacity to mobilise local-currency financing for infrastructure projects across Africa’s largest economy.
The 10-year unsecured facility, formalised in Lagos, will be disbursed in two equal $25 million tranches.
The financing will strengthen InfraCredit’s capital base as it expands its pipeline of infrastructure transactions and seeks to attract more long-term naira funding from domestic investors.
The investment is backed by the International Development Association Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility and the Concessional Capital Window, underscoring the role of blended and risk-sharing capital in unlocking private investment in infrastructure.
InfraCredit provides credit guarantees for infrastructure-related debt transactions, helping projects access longer-term financing from Nigeria’s domestic capital markets.
The company said the additional capital would enhance its ability to mobilise institutional investment into projects spanning renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, healthcare and transportation.
The transaction also adds to a wider network of development finance institutions and partners supporting InfraCredit through equity, subordinated debt, portfolio risk-sharing mechanisms, counter-guarantees, first-loss capital, specialised financing facilities and technical assistance.
InfraCredit said the combination of these instruments has strengthened its financial leverage while enabling the company to develop new financing structures and co-financing platforms for infrastructure projects.
Since beginning operations in 2017, InfraCredit said it has facilitated more than N600 billion in long-term local-currency financing for 28 infrastructure projects and supported 14 first-time issuers in accessing Nigeria’s domestic debt capital market.
Its guaranteed transactions have included Nigeria’s first 15-year green infrastructure bond, while other transactions have helped extend corporate bond maturities to as much as 20 years.
The company said its guaranteed infrastructure bonds have attracted significant participation from domestic institutional investors, including 20 of Nigeria’s 25 Pension Fund Administrators, demonstrating growing appetite among local investors for long-duration infrastructure assets.
IFC Financial Institutions Group Director for Africa Aliou Maiga said the investment would help strengthen Nigeria’s infrastructure financing ecosystem by mobilising domestic resources.
“By supporting InfraCredit’s institutional capacity, we are helping mobilise domestic resources for infrastructure investments that can drive economic growth, job creation and sustainable development across key sectors of the Nigerian economy,” Maiga said.
He added that IFC was pleased to deepen its partnership with InfraCredit as the company continues to contribute to the development of Nigeria’s local capital markets.
InfraCredit Chief Executive Officer Chinua Azubike said strengthening the institution had become increasingly important as its transaction pipeline expanded and its financing products evolved.
He said the IFC facility would improve InfraCredit’s ability to mobilise long-term domestic capital for infrastructure projects and described the investment as evidence of continued confidence from international development finance institutions in the company’s business model.
Azubike noted that InfraCredit’s support network includes development finance institutions and other partners participating across different layers of its capital and risk-sharing structures.
“This breadth of support is a significant competitive advantage and reflects the maturity and resilience of our institution,” he said.
The investment comes as Nigeria seeks to deepen its domestic capital markets and mobilise private and institutional capital for infrastructure projects requiring long repayment periods and substantial upfront investment.
For project developers, stronger guarantee capacity can help bridge the gap between infrastructure projects requiring long-term capital and domestic investors seeking structures that manage credit and project risks.
