ARM-Harith hits $76 million first close, targets $200 million for African infrastructure fund   

ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investments Limited, a leading pan-African private equity fund manager focused on energy transition and infrastructure investment, has completed a $76 million first close of its successor climate transition fund. 

The firm, led by chief executive Rachel More-Oshodi, said the fund is targeting a final close of $200 million. It is designed as a blended finance platform that allows African institutional investors to participate alongside global capital in infrastructure equity deals across sub-Saharan Africa.

The structure combines U.S. dollar and local currency commitments within a single fund vehicle. ARM-Harith said this approach is intended to address a long-standing challenge in African infrastructure financing: many projects generate local-currency revenue, while traditional funds are structured in hard currency. That gap has often discouraged participation from domestic pension funds and created currency risk mismatches for investors. 

By allowing both currency types to sit within one framework, the fund aims to reduce that friction and expand access for African pension funds operating under local regulatory and liability requirements, while still offering foreign investors exposure in U.S. dollars.

AfDB, FSD Africa back first close 

The first close includes $20 million in catalytic capital from FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) and the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). 

The backing is intended to reduce investment risk for pension funds and other institutional investors, helping unlock larger pools of domestic capital for infrastructure development across the continent. 

The fund will focus on energy-transition and climate-resilient infrastructure projects that generate long-term economic benefits while delivering stable returns. 

Rachel More-Oshodi said the fund builds on lessons learned from the firm’s first infrastructure vehicle. 

“With our first fund, we demonstrated that domestic institutional capital can be mobilized into infrastructure equity,” she said. “This successor fund brings local- and hard-currency capital together in a single platform, creating a structure that reflects how African infrastructure assets operate and generate revenue.” 

She said investors supporting the fund recognize the need for financing models that can attract both local savings and international capital while allocating risks more effectively. 

Joao Duarte Cunha, manager of the African Development Bank’s Renewable Energy Funds Division, described the first close as an important step for renewable-energy investment in the region. 

“SEFA’s participation demonstrates how blended finance can help mobilize private capital into sustainable infrastructure and expand long-term institutional investment,” he said. 

Anne-Marie Chidzero, chief investment officer at FSDAi, said pension funds across Africa have often faced limited opportunities to invest in infrastructure because available products were not designed to match their long-term liabilities. 

“The challenge has not been a lack of capital,” Chidzero said. “It has been the lack of investment structures that align with pension funds’ requirements around risk, investment duration and currency exposure.”

Building on previous investments 

ARM-Harith said its predecessor fund financed major transport projects and more than 700 megawatts of installed power capacity across Africa. The investments supported roughly 22,500 jobs and helped avoid an estimated 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions annually. 

The new fund will target projects that combine commercial returns with measurable development and climate outcomes, including investments that support regional integration and economic growth. 

ARM-Harith: Building long-term infrastructure assets 

Founded in 2013, ARM-Harith is a joint venture between ARM, one of Nigeria’s largest non-bank financial-services groups, and Harith General Partners, a South Africa-based infrastructure investment manager. 

With more than 80 years of combined investment experience across the continent, the company manages investments spanning energy, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, water and waste management. In 2015, it closed ARM-Harith Investment Fund I, which became the first infrastructure equity fund registered under the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s infrastructure fund rules. 

More-Oshodi, who leads the firm, has over two decades of experience in infrastructure and project finance, has been involved in transactions exceeding $7 billion across energy, telecommunications, and core infrastructure sectors.