(Bloomberg) -- FSD Africa, a UK development agency headquartered in Kenya, is helping raise $1.3 billion for two funds investing in businesses across seven African countries.
The organization, which is backed by the UK government, is targeting investments from fund managers and pension funds that will go toward business loans across Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is also inviting multilateral development banks to refinance some of the assets.
“We hope to raise $1 billion for that, but we may do a pilot because it depends on how many assets are eligible,” Evans Osano, director for capital markets at FSD Africa, said in an interview in Nairobi, Kenyan capital. “We are looking at 12 to 18 months timeline.”
In addition, FSD Africa is raising $300 million for small and medium Kenyan businesses, working with the local Capital Markets Authority and the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The first close for the strategy is expected to be about $100 million, Osano said.
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