August 25, 2026
AFC Capital Partners, the asset-management subsidiary of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has launched a $150 million Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund Nigeria (ICRF Nigeria) aimed at mobilising domestic institutional capital for infrastructure investment in Nigeria.
The fund has been registered with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a closed-end fund and is targeting investments from pension fund administrators, insurance companies, asset managers and other institutional investors.
ICRF Nigeria forms part of AFC Capital Partners’ broader $750 million Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund, which is focused on infrastructure investments across Africa that incorporate climate resilience into project development, construction and operations.
AFC expects the wider platform to mobilise up to $3.7 billion in total project financing.
Transport and Renewable Energy in Focus
For Nigeria, transport and renewable energy have been identified as priority sectors for the fund’s initial investments.
AFC Capital Partners Nigeria expects the fund to make its first investment before the end of 2026, subject to the fund reaching its first close.
The broader strategy also covers infrastructure including transport and logistics, energy, telecommunications and economic zones.
The fund is designed to invest across different stages of the infrastructure lifecycle, including early-stage projects, mid-stage financing and mature operational assets.
Mobilising Domestic Institutional Capital
A key objective of ICRF Nigeria is to connect Nigeria’s long-term institutional savings with infrastructure opportunities.
Nigeria has a substantial pool of institutional capital, particularly through its pension industry. United Capital estimated the country’s investment pool, particularly pension assets, at approximately ₦31 trillion–₦32 trillion at the fund’s launch.
The challenge is converting a portion of these long-term savings into infrastructure investments while managing project, currency and execution risks.
The ICRF structure seeks to address some of these challenges through institutional investment and blended-finance mechanisms.
The wider fund has received support from climate and development-finance institutions, including the Green Climate Fund, while the Development Bank of Southern Africa has also committed to the wider $750 million platform.
Climate Resilience as an Investment Priority
The fund is designed around the idea that infrastructure investment needs to account for increasing physical climate risks.
Flooding, extreme temperatures and other climate-related events can damage roads and other infrastructure, disrupt transportation and increase maintenance costs.
ICRF therefore incorporates climate-resilience considerations into the investment process, alongside environmental, social and governance requirements.
The objective is to improve the ability of infrastructure assets to withstand climate-related disruption while protecting their long-term economic value.
What Happens Next
The immediate focus will be on securing commitments from Nigerian institutional investors and achieving the fund’s first close.
The first investment is expected before the end of 2026, with transport and renewable energy currently identified as priority areas.
For the infrastructure market, the sequence to watch is:
Institutional commitments → First close → First investment → Project identification → Financial close → Procurement → Construction
The launch creates a new potential capital channel for Nigerian infrastructure and could ultimately support multiple projects beyond the initial $150 million fund target.