Student Accommod8 Raises Debt Funding for Hostels

Bennett Oghifo

Student Accommod8, Nigeria’s leading developer, owner and manager of high-quality and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), has raised an undisclosed amount of debt funding from the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF), managed by Chapel Hill Denham.

The company said this in a statement, which described the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund as Africa’s and Nigeria’s first listed infrastructure debt fund. “The fund is structured to enable domestic long-term savings such as pension and retirement assets to be safely channeled into productive infrastructure assets in the country. While supporting commercially attractive projects, NIDF enables its investors to benefit from the predictable returns available from long dated infrastructure debt investments.

“The debt financing is being used for expansion of SA8’s two existing PBSAs, serving Pan Atlantic University and Olabisi Onabanjo University. These PBSAs have been designed, built and managed to the highest standards, providing value added services including minimarts, cafeterias, laundry services and many more to not only the residents but also to the wider student community in the respective universities.

“In the last decade, there has been a 12% annual average growth of student enrolment in Nigerian tertiary institutions however the provision of purpose-built student accommodation is less than 30% of the demand. With the ever-growing demand for student housing in Nigeria, Student Accommod8 plans to develop and/or acquire 15,000 bed spaces in the next 3-5 years.”

On the transaction, the Founder/CEO of Student Accommod8, Abayomi Onasanya, said: “We are very excited to have a partner in the caliber of NIDF come on board and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship which will impact the lives of Nigerian students positively.Our goal is simply to continuously deliver the best experience for students across the country. Nigeria’s students are the future and we intend to serve them the best way possible.”

The CEO, Nigeria Infrastructure Deft Fund, Anshul Rai said:

Financing of social infrastructure, particularly in education and healthcare, is central to NIDF’s investment objective as well as our broader mission to drive positive development outcomes. SA8 is operating in a sector with substantial unmet demand and its PBSAs will contribute to meaningful improvement in student welfare.

Student Accommod8 develops and operates Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) that provides an affordable and secure environment focused on providing a quality home and community experience for all students to meet their academic potential in Nigeria and West Africa.

“Student Accommod8 hostels are strategically placed close to universities or within the university’s campus and each hostel comes equipped with all the necessary facilities every student needs to feel at home away from home.”