IFC invests in African tourism fund
The IFC has announced an investment in the Africa Conservation and Communities Tourism Fund (ACCT Fund).
IFC’s $13 million investment will support ecotourism businesses in and around conservation areas in East and Southern Africa, with a focus on South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia. The ACCT Fund will invest in operators of safari camps, hotels, and lodges, helping them address liquidity shortages while recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund is also helping them refurbish, renovate, and expand their operations, especially where the businesses can achieve meaningful conservation and community development impact.
Impact investment and advisory group, ThirdWay Partners, and The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental non-profit organsation, established the ACCT Fund, a structured debt vehicle, in 2021 in response to Covid-19-related challenges affecting the ecotourism sector.
With the financing from IFC and other investors, the fund has now reached final close with a total of $70 million raised. The ACCT Fund is structured using a blended finance approach with three tranches of capital: grant funding, junior equity, and senior equity funding. IFC will invest up to $13 million in the senior equity tranche. In addition to financing, IFC will also provide non-commercial risk mitigation and capacity building by supporting the development of climate guidelines that will contribute to setting standards for the sector and help operators improve their environmental performance by reducing energy and water use and improving waste management.