Acre Impact Capital’s innovative Export Finance Fund I LP invests in climate-aligned essential infrastructure projects in Africa by partnering with leading commercial lenders and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs). The fund focuses on four impact themes strongly aligned with the UN Sustainable development Goals: (i) Renewable Power; (ii) Health, Food and Water Scarcity; (iii) Sustainable Cities and (iv) Green Transportation.
The fund invests in a commercial debt tranche – typically worth 15% of the value of a project – which needs to be in place before ECAs can support the remaining 85%. Whilst commercial banks generally fund the tranche guaranteed by an ECA, the availability of funding on the commercial debt tranche has been increasingly limited, with the situation worsening since the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing specialist funding for this tranche, the fund will unlock transactions and could mobilise $5.6 of private sector capital for each dollar invested, while generating market-rate returns for investors.