The 'next frontier market' for investment and home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, Africa’s economic renaissance has been so widely referenced in the media that it is now commonplace. However, on the continent itself, attention is focused upon the multi-billion-dollar funding gap for infrastructure projects which, if not addressed, could undercut Africa’s remarkable economic recovery.
Completing the financing of an infrastructure project in Africa is not for the faint-hearted. It is a capital-intensive and arduous undertaking that at a minimum takes several months, or at worst, years to conclude. A hallmark of project financing in the continent is that banks rely on the project’s cashflows to repay debt and have limited recourse to the sponsors after construction is completed.
