Ninety One Makes $260M First Close on Third Africa, Emerging Markets Credit Fund

South African investment firm Ninety One announced the $260M first close of its African Credit Opportunities Fund III (ACO Fund III), with the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets serving as anchor LPs.

Through Fund III’s proprietary sustainable framework, it aims to provide competitive return outcomes while simultaneously advancing economic development through sustainable capital deployment in Africa and other emerging markets. Standard Bank of South Africa, Fund III’s main credit provider, committed a $45M debt facility in a sustainability-linked loan where the cost of funding is linked to the fund achieving certain climate/carbon and social impact targets.

The firm’s ACO strategy has raised $700M across three fund vintages and achieved $1.2B worth of investments across 82 counterparties in more than 20 countries in the region. These investments have been mainly focused on telecommunications and infrastructure.

ACO Fund III is managed by Steven Loubser and Kobina Kobi Sam, managing directors in Ninety One's emerging market alternative credit team.

Source: https://ninetyone.com/en/united-states/newsroom/ninety-one-announces-usd260-million-first-close-of-aco-strategy-3