AIIM completes capital increase for IDEAS fund

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), one of Africa’s largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers, has successfully completed a capital increase of ZAR5.5 billion (about $370 million) for its flagship southern African infrastructure fund, the IDEAS Managed Fund.

The fundraise exceeds the initial ZAR4.5 billion ($301 million) target by 20%, taking the size of the open-ended fund to more than ZAR22 billion ($1.475 billion).

IDEAS will deploy the capital in line with the fund’s existing mandate, providing investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of sustainable infrastructure assets across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The current fundraising has been concluded to support the deployment of an active pipeline of assets across the power, digital infrastructure and transport sectors, over the next three years, underpinned by long-term economic and environmental sustainability goals.

Commenting on the success of the fundraise, AIIM co-managing director Vuyo Ntoi said, “The strong support from existing and new investors is indicative of investors’ confidence in AIIM and IDEAS’ investment mandate. The market has reached an inflection point with public policy support catalysing healthy deal flow and increasing private sector investor appetite. We are very pleased by the trust placed in us by the growing investor base and look forward to partnering with our investors to deliver long-term infrastructure for South Africa and the region.”

The new commitments were secured from 19 key South African institutional and pension fund investors, with two thirds of the capital being committed by new investors to the fund. The investor appetite capitalised on recent interest in the alternative assets and expected amendments to Regulation 28 anticipated to support an increased allocation to infrastructure assets from the South African pension industry. This is supported by the recognition of infrastructure as a key asset class in the delivery of impact across an investment portfolio.

AIIM’s SADC chief investment officer, Sean Friend noted, “The pandemic has reinforced the strength of infrastructure as an attractive long-term asset class, in the face of market volatility. All our portfolio assets remained operational during this period, resulting in strong performance and being able to outperform most other asset classes. In addition to delivering compelling risk-adjusted returns, the portfolio supported more than 4,000 direct jobs throughout the pandemic, and we are pleased to have been able to play a part in South Africa’s long-term economic recovery and ongoing development.”

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