“MiDA”seeks to expose U.S. public plan sponsors and other institutional investors to opportunities to co-invest with African counterparts in Africa’s infrastructure. These investments have the potential to generate attractive risk-return profiles that match the investor’s liability structures and long-term yield expectations. The partnership will develop investment channels for NASP members to co-invest with local institutional investors with similar mandates; provide technical assistance with U.S. financial professionals to help structure investment transactions that meet investors’ requirements; partner with development financial institutions to source investable infrastructure projects and develop capital markets solutions; and convene U.S.-Africa institutional investors conferences and business missions in Africa and the United States.
MiDA’s Focus and Activities:
- Expose U.S. institutional investors to infrastructure as a global asset class, and to specific opportunities to co-invest in Africa’s infrastructure, including power, transportation, and water.
- Help structure channels through which U.S. and African pension funds, asset managers and banks can co-invest in infrastructure, including infrastructure debt and equity funds, permanent capital vehicles, project bonds and co-financing opportunities.
- Provide capacity building to U.S. and African pension funds and asset managers on pipeline transactions and risk management solutions.
- Convene U.S. and African pensions and asset managers to build relationships and partnerships for co-investing and other financial services both in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States.
- Deepen opportunities for U.S. financial services providers seeking to deepen relationships with African asset owners with billions of investments in the United States.
MiDA in South Africa: MiDA is convening a first of its kind U.S. and Africa Institutional Investor Meetings in South Africa, May 2-5, 2017 in collaboration with Africa Investor (Ai). The meetings are focused on deepening mutually beneficial U.S.-Africa investment opportunities. Senior executives from about 30 U.S. asset owners – pensions, insurance, endowments and foundations – with an estimated $1.5 trillion in assets under management, asset managers who invest close to $5 trillion in assets, and consultants who advise approximately $1.2 trillion in assets will be attending. Institutional investors from the continent will also be well represented, including South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation, Uganda’s National Social Security Fund, Tanzania’s Public Service Pension Fund, sovereign wealth funds from Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Rwanda. These asset owners represent a significant share of Africa’s estimated $1 trillion in institutional investors assets.
MiDA in Kenya: MiDA is preparing domestic fund managers, banks, and pension plans’ capacity to co-invest in infrastructure projects through capacity building and structuring of appropriate capital market vehicles that will attract both local and foreign investors. Initial seminars in Nairobi in March 2017 attracted over 15 fund managers and several local banks. MiDA has partnered with the World Bank in this initiative based on its successful experience in crowding in institutional investors in infrastructure projects in Colombia, Latin America.
MiDA in USA: To increase opportunities for U.S. financial services providers, MiDA has invited major African assets owners to its Africa Financial Summit in Los Angeles, June 26–28, 2017. African asset owners invest billions in the United States, and are seeking to deepen their relationships with additional investments in US dollars to further diversify their investment portfolios.
Photo Credit:
Twangiza Articanal Miners: A $4 million partnership between USAID and Canada’s Banro Corporation was created to help formalize legal, conflict-free artisanal gold mining at the Banro mining site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.