AFC launches $750m fund to unlock Nigeria’s pension, insuran...

AFC Capital Partners (ACP), the asset management subsidiary of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has launched the Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund Nigeria (ICRF Nigeria) to mobilise domestic institutional capital for climate-resilient infrastructure projects across Nigeria and Africa.

The fund, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a closed-end fund, will target pension fund administrators, insurers, asset managers and other Nigerian institutional investors seeking exposure to commercially viable infrastructure projects.

ICRF Nigeria is part of ACP’s broader $750 million Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund, which aims to finance infrastructure capable of withstanding growing climate risks while generating commercially sustainable returns.

ACP said the broader fund has attracted major institutional and development investors, including a $253 million first-loss commitment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), its largest equity investment in Africa to date.

Other participants include the European Investment Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and several African pension funds.

ACP expects the wider fund to mobilise up to $3.7 billion in total financing and build a portfolio of between 10 and 12 infrastructure projects across Africa.

AFC President and Chief Executive Officer, Samaila Zubairu, said the launch was aimed at addressing a mismatch between Africa’s large pools of domestic savings and its infrastructure financing needs.

“Africa is not short of capital,” Zubairu said, noting that the continent holds more than $4 trillion in domestic resources, including long-term pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds.

He said too much of this capital remained in low-risk, short-term assets instead of being channelled into infrastructure, industry and innovation.

Zubairu said ICRF Nigeria would provide a mechanism for Nigerian institutional investors to participate directly in infrastructure development while supporting more resilient and sustainable economic growth.

ACP Chief Executive Officer, Ayaan Adam, said the fund would give Nigerian institutional investors access to a diversified portfolio of climate-resilient infrastructure opportunities across Nigeria and the wider African market.

She said combining institutional capital with AFC’s infrastructure expertise and blended finance would help address infrastructure funding shortages while reducing climate-related investment risks.

The fund will focus on sectors critical to Africa’s economic development, including renewable energy, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure and industrial development.

Its investment approach will assess both physical climate risks, such as extreme weather, and transition risks linked to emissions, regulation and climate governance.

Each investment will undergo climate-risk screening and assessment to ensure resilience is incorporated from project planning and design through construction and operation.

The Green Climate Fund will provide first-loss capital and technical assistance for climate-risk assessment and monitoring, helping reduce investment risks and attract additional private and institutional capital.

For Nigeria, the initiative comes as the country seeks to mobilise its growing pension and insurance assets into infrastructure while addressing a persistent financing gap.

The creation of a dedicated domestic investment platform could therefore provide pension funds and insurers with greater access to long-term infrastructure assets while directing more Nigerian savings towards projects capable of supporting energy, transport, digital connectivity and industrial growth.

The broader significance is that Nigeria is being positioned not just as a beneficiary of infrastructure finance, but as a source of institutional capital for Africa’s next generation of climate-resilient infrastructure.