The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria InfraCredit, a ‘AAA’-rated specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, backed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (“NSIA”), Private Infrastructure Development Group companies GuarantCo and InfraCo Africa, KfW Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, and African Development Bank, to bring high-quality U.S. infrastructure solutions to Nigeria.
The partners announced the partnership in an emailed statement.
“The foundation of any strong partnership consists of trust, mutual respect, and collective prosperity. These principles are central to our relationship with InfraCredit,” the statement quoted Enoh T. Ebong, USTDA’s Acting Director, as saying.
“USTDA’s three decades of project preparation expertise is an excellent complement to InfraCredit’s financial guarantees.
Under the partnership, they will leverage each other’s resources to overcome many of the constraints that inhibit the bankability of infrastructure investments in Nigeria, Ebong said.
The partners will work together to identify infrastructure projects that could benefit from project preparation funding and subsequent credit enhancements.
This collaboration will facilitate the development of bankable infrastructure projects highlighting U.S.-based solutions and bring them to market for InfraCredit’s investment-catalyzing guarantees, the statement explained.
The sectors of cooperation highlighted in the MOU include clean energy, information and communications technology, transportation, agribusiness and healthcare infrastructure.
“USTDA’s project preparation and partnership-building activities have supported InfraCredit in executing well-structured, bankable infrastructure projects that can access long term domestic institutional investments in Nigeria’s debt capital market,” said Chinua Azubike, Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit.
“We believe this relationship is catalytic in strengthening local capacities and promoting domestic resource mobilization for infrastructure finance in Nigeria,” he added.
Currently, USTDA and InfraCredit are collaborating with Nigeria’s Hotspot Network Limited on the deployment of up to 2,000 cellular base stations that would expand digital connectivity in rural Nigeria.
A USTDA-funded feasibility study on the project is currently underway for InfraCredit’s financial guarantee.
