The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and ILX Management B.V. (ILX) have completed their first joint transaction, marking a key milestone in their 2023 partnership aimed at mobilising European institutional capital for climate-aligned infrastructure across Africa. ILX has invested $40 million through a funded risk participation in an AfDB-arranged $140 million senior debt facility supporting a 1.1-GW wind power project in Egypt. The project, classified as climate mitigation finance, will generate renewable electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support Egypt’s energy transition by easing reliance on fossil fuels, lowering fuel import needs, and strengthening national energy security.
The transaction reflects the practical implementation of both institutions’ strategy to scale up private sector investment in Sustainable Development Goals and Paris-aligned projects, with AfDB focusing on mobilising development and climate finance and ILX channeling long-term European pension capital into high-impact investments in emerging markets. It also aligns with AfDB’s broader development priorities, including expanding access to capital, strengthening climate-resilient infrastructure, and supporting sustainable economic growth across its member countries.
AfDB leadership highlighted the importance of private sector participation in closing Africa’s financing gaps and accelerating the continent’s energy transition, while ILX emphasised the role of development finance institutions in enabling institutional investors to deploy capital at scale in structured, high-impact projects. Government stakeholders also underscored the transaction’s contribution to energy security and the growing recognition of development finance as a scalable investment class that can attract long-term global capital into sustainable infrastructure.
