UK’s MOBILIST Invests ₦9.5bn in InfraCredit to Scale Up Infrastructure Financing in Nigeria
In a strategic deal to scale up Nigeria’s infrastructure financing and unlock long-term domestic capital, the United Kingdom, through its Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST) programme, has invested ₦9.5 billion (approximately $6 million) in Nigeria’s Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (InfraCredit).
The investment is a critical milestone under InfraCredit’s total ₦64 billion ($41 million) capital raise and listing on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange—the largest in Nigeria for unlisted securities. The step is likely to strengthen InfraCredit’s capacity to mobilize domestic institutional capital into priority infrastructure projects.
InfraCredit, established in 2017 by GuarantCo and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), provides credit guarantees for infrastructure-related bonds and financing with a local currency focus. Its key aim is to improve the credit quality of infrastructure investment and crowd in funding from pension funds, insurance firms, and other long-term investors.
The investment by the UK is expected to accelerate the pace at which InfraCredit funds sustainable infrastructure projects across Nigeria. Reacting to the investment, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonny Baxter, stated:
“This investment demonstrates the UK’s long-term commitment to supporting Nigeria to realize its infrastructure and energy transition ambitions. The success of InfraCredit demonstrates the power and impact of long-term partnership.”
To date, InfraCredit has facilitated over ₦264 billion of long-term local currency financing to projects in the renewable energy, housing, transportation, and telecoms sectors. With this new investment and increased equity base, the institution is poised to increase its operations.
InfraCredit CEO, Chinua Azubike, said the listing and new investment would enable the firm to support even more transformative projects in infrastructure:
We are excited about the opportunities this investment creates. It enhances our guarantee capacity and allows us to mobilize broader participation of local institutional investors in infrastructure financing.”
Azubike also added that expanding InfraCredit’s shareholder base to include international development finance partners enhances market confidence and accelerates the prospects for infrastructure-led economic growth in Nigeria.
The UK’s ₦9.5 billion investment through MOBILIST also aligns with its broader objective of mobilizing private funds towards sustainable development in emerging markets. The program is designed to bridge the gap between institutional capital and infrastructure needs by enabling the listing of impactful investment instruments like InfraCredit.
Analysts commended the development as timely when Nigeria has an enormous infrastructure financing gap—estimated at over $2.3 trillion in the 2021-2043 period.
By enhancing the balance sheet and visibility of InfraCredit in capital markets, the investment is expected to drive investor confidence and catalyze private-sector financing critical to unlocking Nigeria’s economic as well as climate-related ambitions.
