This transaction marks one of the largest private infrastructure capital raises in Africa to date, with both primary and secondary components.

The capital will support ARISE IIP’s continued expansion across the continent and the development of green, inclusive, and sustainable industrial ecosystems.

The institutional shareholder base of ARISE IIP comprises the founding shareholders Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Equitane, along with the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the development impact platform of Afreximbank, and, with this transaction, Vision Invest the newest shareholder.

“ARISE has always believed in Africa’s promise and the talent driving its growth. The partnership with Vision Invest and the continued support of our institutional shareholders will help us build resilient, self-sustaining industrial ecosystems that deliver long-term value,” said Gagan Gupta, founder and CEO of ARISE IIP, highlighting the strategic significance of the new investment.

Commenting on the transaction, Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation and Chairman of ARISE IIP, emphasized the alignment between capital and continental development goals:

“ARISE IIP has demonstrated what is possible when global capital aligns with Africa’s ambitions. We are proud to deepen our partnership and support ARISE IIP as it scales industrial transformation across the continent.”

In support of the milestone, Professor Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, shared his congratulations, stating:

“Afreximbank congratulates Arise IIP management on this landmark deal. With this capital increase, Arise IIP will become an even stronger partner of Afreximbank in the drive to promote export manufacturing and industrialization in Africa.”

Echoing this optimism, Marlene Ngoyi, CEO of FEDA, added:

“We are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to ARISE IIP by participating in this historic capital raise. ARISE IIP exemplifies the kind of platform that drives sustainable growth and regional integration across Africa.”

From Vision Invest, Mohammad A. Abunayyan, chairman of Vision Invest, reflected on the alignment of values:

“This marks our first direct investment in Africa and a natural extension of our values and impact investment philosophy, which centres on the socio-economic development of the communities in which we invest. We are proud to partner with AFC, FEDA, and Equitane to support economic diversification and local development.”

Building on this, Omar N. Al-Midani, president and CEO of Vision Invest, concluded:

“ARISE IIP represents the ideal platform for Vision Invest’s entry into Africa, combining world-class execution, an institutional shareholder base, and an operating model that focuses on in-country beneficiation. We look forward to building long-term value together.”

Standard Chartered Bank and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as exclusive advisors to ARISE IIP. EFG Hermes and Linklaters advised Vision Invest.

This announcement underscores the continued confidence of global and regional institutions in ARISE IIP’s ability to deliver infrastructure that drives industrialisation, enhances local value chains, and creates shared prosperity across the continent.

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This financing will support the development of industrial parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZ), while also providing crucial trade finance support to businesses operating within the ARISE IIP ecosystem.

The US$ 450 million, granted in the context of Afreximbank’s strategic objective of promoting, facilitating, and supporting Africa’s industrialisation ecosystems, is part of a proposed US$ 800-million facility to support ARISE IIP in developing Industrial Parks (IPs) and SEZs in such countries as Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi, among others.

Under the terms of the facility agreement, ARISE IIP will deploy US$ 300 million to finance working capital requirements for its operating Industrial Parks (GDIZ-Benin, PIA-Togo, LAHAM TCHAD-Chad, PEIA-Cote d’Ivoire and BSEZ-Rwanda) and for capital expenditures for the development of new industrial parks in DRC, Kenya, Chad, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.

ARISE IIP will deploy the remaining US$ 150 million to develop an industrial park in Lilongwe, Malawi, and as trade finance for the activities of its export trading company in Malawi under Afreximbank’s Export Agriculture for Food Security initiative.

Signing the agreement on behalf of ARISE IIP was Arvind Arora, the Chief Treasury Officer, while Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, signed on behalf of Afreximbank.

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development Bank said: 

“The facility reflects Afreximbank’s ongoing commitment to mobilising financial and technical resources towards the promotion of industrialisation across Africa. This is our way of supporting value addition and structural transformation of African economies. We remain eager to collaborate with key stakeholders to build trusted partnerships and to industrialise African countries. Afreximbank strongly believes that IPs and SEZs are veritable tools that Africa can deploy to fast-track industrial infrastructure development and to promote intra-African trade and export development. With ARISE IIP as an established developer and operator of IPs and SEZs on the continent, we are confident that this facility will contribute to supporting the continental industrialisation agenda.”

Arvind Arora, Chief Treasury Officer of ARISE IIP remarked:

“The US$450 million facility represents a major step forward in supporting Africa’s industrialisation efforts. This financing covers critical working capital and capital expenditure needs across various countries, addressing the diverse requirements for industrial development. Africa’s infrastructure investment gap, currently exceeding US$100 billion annually, significantly impacts the continent’s living conditions and its global competitiveness. At ARISE IIP, we are committed to working with strategic partners around the world to bridge this gap and accelerate industrialisation across the continent.” 

The development of the new IPs and SEZs, along with the expansion of activities in the existing IPs, is expected to result in the attraction of 230 tenants, bringing in an estimated investment of US$ 1.7 billion over the next five years, while total exports from the new IPs and SEZs, once in operation, would reach US$ 5 billion over the five-year period, with domestically-sourced goods and services reaching US$ 3.4 billion.

In addition, the new investments in the IPs and SEZs are expected to contribute to the creation of 32,000 direct jobs and 138,000 in-direct jobs.

Afreximbank has been working with ARISE IIP as a strategic partner, focusing on industrialisation initiatives across Africa.

The collaboration has seen the Bank and Arise working together on various projects including a USD 5 Billion Africa Textile Renaissance Plan, which intends to create 500,000 MT of African cotton transformation capacity and 500,000 jobs.

The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), Afreximbank’s development impact investment arm, invested USD 300 million in the latest fundraising round, which concluded in October 2024. During this round, Arise IIP raised a total of USD 443 million.

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