Author: Toju Ogbe

NSIA Partners GuarantCo To Establish A Credit Enhancement Facility Company

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is partnering with GuarantCo to set up a Credit Enhancement Facility Company that will enable pension funds to invest in Nigerian Infrastructure bonds. The new company will serve as a facility to help provide credit enhancements for infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

NSIA

The new venture will provide a form of monoline insurance, giving a guarantee and allowing pension funds and insurance companies to invest.

The company is expected to be launched in a few weeks’ time and it aims to boost the financing of infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

GuarantCo is a London-based development financing institution supports infrastructure related projects in low-income African, Middle East, and Asian countries by issuing guarantees in local and international currencies to banks and bond investors. It specialises in frontier market infrastructure. The governments of Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are sponsors of GuarantCo. The company is rated AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody’s.

Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is the Nigerian investment institution that manages the Nigeria sovereign wealth fund. The sovereign wealth fund was established in 2011 for the purpose of managing and investing the funds obtained from the surplus of the excess oil reserves on behalf of the government of Nigeria.

 

EU Launches $47 Billion Fund for Africa’s Economic Development

The European Union (EU) has launched a €44 billion ($47.46 billion) Africa Economic Development Fund aimed at helping Nigeria and other African countries drive economic growth and development.

The Fund, which would be made available for disbursements in .0first quarter 2018 as credit money, was designed to help developing economies cover identified risks to attract foreign direct investments as well as assist the digital industry in Nigeria which the EU sees as one of the areas with the strongest growth potential.

Cros Agro Invests in Potato, Coffee, Oil Palm Plantations in Kaduna State

Cros Agro Allied Limited, a BlackPace company, is making huge strategic investment in potato, oil palm, coffee and ginger production in Nigeria to create employment opportunities and boost agriculture in both Kaduna and Plateau States respectively. With various farms in Gurara, Kachia, Mangu and Kafanchan areas, the firm is diversifying its agribusiness aggressively.

Leading the way in the production of the Irish potato value chain, Cros Agro is investing in the critical enabling components that ensure long time sustainability of the industry. The firm currently owns 700 hectares of oil palm plantation with additional 6,000 hectares underway, 1,500 hectares of ginger farm, 1,200 hectares of potato field and 10 hectares ready for processing facility in Gurara.

The company currently employs close to 60 farmers and will create additional 250 direct jobs immediately its potato processing plants resume in 2018. Its goal is to support socio-economic development of rural Nigeria while improving on quality of life.

In addition to boosting its processing business in the Potato Value chains, Cros Agro has reached an agreement with Rosenqvists Food Technologies to supply its 5,000 kg an hour French Fries and Potato Flakes processing plants. The plant will be completed in December 2017 and unveiled for operation in April 2018.