African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) was a natural winner for the Fund Manager of the Year in Africa, with judges impressed with the breadth and significance of the transactions in the region.  

One judge said: “An impressive presence in the region and the clear leader in investing across Africa investing in assets with clear impact in the region which extends wider than simply the transaction in question.” 

While another member of the judging panel said: “Really significant transactions to materially shift along progress within Africa in both the digital and energy transition spaces.” 

In July 2024, AIIM held final close on African Infrastructure Investment Fund 4 (AIIF4) at nearly $1 billion, making it the largest alternatives fundraising in Africa over the past three years and the largest infrastructure fund closed since Covid.  

The final close at $954 million – $748 million in commitments and $206 million in co-investments – exceeded the fund’s target by 50%.  

AIIF4 follows on from other iterations and invests behind 3 secular themes shaping African economies: the growth in digital infrastructure, the energy transition, and increased urbanisation. 

The submission said: “The African investment landscape is still in a relatively early stage of development, with varying investment prospects between countries. The African macro-economic landscape has been challenged post-COVID, with a general weakening of financial position of many governments in major Africa countries. Where infrastructure has traditionally had a strong focus on PPP structures and utility offtake, AIIM has refined our strategy to focus on sectors with strong private sector offtake.” 

AIIM’s investments in ports, data centre, telecoms towers, fibre to the business / home, temperature controlled logistics and commercial & industrial renewable energy sectors have pivoted away from traditional utility counterparties and facilitated investments with strong credit-worthy counterparties and strong commercial underpins. 

While local currency investments have had a negative impact on returns for international investors, AIIM has implemented a successful hedging strategy in order to protect the underwrite returns in US dollars.   

AIIM’s key transactions include $90 million invested into the N+One Data Centre platform. N+One is the leading carrier neutral data centre operator in Morocco with about 50% market share at the time of the investment.  

Meanwhile, AIIM’s IDEAS Fund is a major investor in South Africa’s renewable energy sector, with approximately 1GW in operating assets through the REIPPP program with Eskom. IDEAS, along with its majority-owned development company African Clean Energy Developments (ACED), invested approximately $90 million in 280MW of commercial and industrial generation facilities in June 2024. This includes the 140MW Khangela Wind Farm, supplying Rio Tinto’s Richard’s Bay Minerals, and the 140MW Umsinde Wind Farm, serving Sibanye Stillwater.