E-Financial
IFC Invests in Africa Local Currency Bond Fund to Support Capital Markets
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced that it is investing $20 million in debt in the African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund Ltd.) to help develop local currency capital markets in Africa.
The ALCB Fund was established by KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2012 to support the development of African bond markets and to improve private sector access to long-term, local currency financing.
Through investments and technical assistance, the ALCB fund mobilizes domestic capital to invest in local currency bonds, which can provide a source of finance for businesses in Africa.
This improves the sustainability and diversity of funding sources and reduces risk at the level of the individual issuer as well as on a systemic level across the economy.
The Fund targets non-sovereign bonds whose proceeds promote financial inclusion, housing finance, renewable energy, agriculture and supply chain finance.
ALCB fund has been investing for four years, during which it has played a key role in bringing 19 local currency bonds to market for 14 companies in seven countries, investing $42.6 million. In 2016, for every $1 invested by the fund in local currency bonds, $10.62 was invested by third parties.
The fund is managed by LHGP Asset Management LLP (LHGP AM), an alternative asset manager regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority with offices in London and Nairobi.
LHGP AM was appointed as Fund Manager to the ALCB Fund in May 2015, where ALCB was established based on an idea in the G20 Action Plan to Support the Development of Local Currency Bond Markets, adopted by the Group in 2011.
“IFC’s investment is truly a landmark event for the ALCB Fund, as it will help strengthen the Fund’s position as a main actor in local currency bond markets in Africa. The additional funding will strongly improve its positive impact on African bond issuers, local capital markets and final beneficiaries alike”, said Karl von Klitzing, Director of the ALCB Fund and Principal Project Manager at KfW Development Bank.
Jingdong Hua, IFC Vice President and Treasurer said, “ALCB Fund is a culmination of IFC, KfW and other partners’ efforts to develop domestic capital markets in Africa. The fund’s success will set an example to other asset managers, and could lead to similar funds that provide local currency financing to African businesses.”
Bim Hundal from LHGP AM said “We are pleased and excited to work with KFW and the IFC on this ground-breaking initiative. Providing local currency financing to African corporations puts the ALCB Fund at the forefront of capital markets innovation.”
IFC’s investment in the ALCB Fund was announced during the IFC-sponsored Capital Markets Africa Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference saw participation from over 250 actors in Africa’s financial sector, who shared ideas on how to strengthen capital markets on the continent.
World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.
The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.
The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.
The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.
This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.
The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.
Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.
This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.
In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.
Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.
These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.
Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.
Ecobank, a pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Google Cloud in a deal to improve financial services with advanced analytics, AI and driving digital empowerment across Africa.
This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank’s digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank.
The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa.
“Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank’s digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud’s world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, group chief executive officer of Ecobank.
“This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa.
“We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank’s efforts to fuel the continent’s economic development and digital future.”
The collaboration aims to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. By leveraging Google Cloud’s capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced the successful close of the N148.7 billion Rights Issue subscription exercise following the completion of the verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and final clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Stanbic IBTC Holdings said the Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 21.9 percent, adding that the holding company has injected N140 billion into Stanbic IBTC Bank.
Kunle Adedeji, acting Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while commenting on the just concluded rights issue programme said that “The turnout and participation of existing shareholders taking up their rights was impressive such that the rights issue was oversubscribed by 21.9percent to the tune of N181.4 billion. Our shareholders’ interest shows the confidence they continue to have in the brand,” he said.
“We appreciate the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lead Issuing house, Joint Issuing houses and other stakeholders in the successful completion of the recapitalisation exercise.
“We are optimistic about future opportunities, as the injection of new capital will position us to take advantage of them to enable us to deliver to our shareholders. To all shareholders, we are grateful for your unwavering belief and support for the Stanbic IBTC Brand and your willingness to continue this journey with us,” Adedeji said.
Having received an injection of N140 billion from the parent company, the Chief Executive of the Banking subsidiary, Wole Adeniyi, remarked that “the injection of the new capital into the banking subsidiary is a positive development. This will enable the Bank to seize additional opportunities within the industry and enhance our Single Obligor Limit (SOL).
“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our regulators, issuing houses, and all other stakeholders. We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support.”
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