Leadway Assurance Becomes First Private Institutional Investor in InfraCedit

Goddy Egene

Leadway Assurance Company Limited has made an equity investment of $5 million InfraCredit, a ‘AAA’ rated specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, thus becoming the first private institutional investor member of the shareholder group in InfraCredit.

Speaking on the investment, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leadway Assurance, Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale said, “InfraCredit is bridging a significant infrastructure gap in Nigeria through the mobilisation of private capital. Through the realisation of the critical role an enabling infrastructure plays in the development of the social-economic conditions in our country, we see a strong alignment in Leadway and InfraCredit’s mission of supporting our clients in building a more resilient Nigeria. InfraCredit’s vision, strong governance and execution capability reinforced our decision to support InfraCredit in its quest to unlock long term local currency capital for infrastructure development in Nigeria through this equity participation. We are excited at the development impact of this investment and the positive trajectory of InfraCredit’s operations and strong
outlook.

We look forward to working with InfraCredit to contribute to Nigeria’s infrastructure development and to fulfill our ESG-inclined investment principles.”

In welcoming Leadway as a new shareholder of InfraCredit, Chairman, Board of Directors and MD/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr.Uche Orji, said: “This investment aligns with our vision of creating an effective public-private-partnership, relevant for crowding-in private sector capital towards infrastructure financing in a sustainable way. It’s an inflection point and exciting milestone in diversifying the capital structure of InfraCredit, as we look forward to deepening private sector participation in the

ownership structure.”

Commenting on the new equity investment, CEO of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, said:“Leadway’s equity investment further strengthens our core capital and guarantee capacity, as we continue to execute on our mission of unlocking private capital for infrastructure development in a sustainable manner. More so, this equity investment from Leadway aligns with our strategic objective of diversifying the shareholder base towards our envisioned capital structure, with requisite participation from leading private institutional investors. We welcome Leadway as a shareholder, with optimism that its equity participation in InfraCredit would consolidate our partnership towards enhancing infrastructure financing and accelerating economic growth.”

Pursuant to this new equity investment, InfraCredit’s total capital base will

increase to $183 million (N75.3 billion), translating to an aggregate guarantee issuing capacity of up to N376.4 billion ($915 million) based on its current maximum capital leverage ratio of up to 5x allowable by its rating agencies.

According to the company, as the economy recovers from the challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, it would continue to deploy innovative credit enhancement solutions in mobilizing private sector financing for infrastructure projects in key sectors of the economy.