The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), the impact investment arm of the Open Society Foundations, is investing $10 million in the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA). AGIA’s overall first close is $118 million.

AGIA is an Africa-led blended finance platform, managed by Africa50, working to catalyze transformative green infrastructure projects that enhance climate resilience, accelerate a just energy transition, and drive inclusive, sustainable development across the continent.

AGIA blends grant and investment capital to provide financing, technical assistance, and capacity building at a key bottleneck of infrastructure projects—failures between feasibility and construction—to improve the conversion rate of projects to reach bankability. Overall, the fund aims to catalyze up to $10 billion in climate finance to critical African green infrastructure projects.

“We are proud to support the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa,” said Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO Soros Economic Development Fund. “AGIA is a critically important Africa-led partnership to catalyze transformative green infrastructure projects that enhance climate resilience, accelerate a just energy transition, and drive inclusive, sustainable development across the continent.”

In making this investment, SEDF is joined by the African Development Bank, KfW, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the West African Development Bank, and the African Climate Foundation, which is supported by the Three Cairns Group. 

Africa50 CEO, Alain Ebobissé said that “since the unveiling of the initiative at COP27, AGIA has moved from ambition to execution, and this first close is a powerful testament to that progress.” He also noted that “by unlocking early-stage project development capital, AGIA will help accelerate the development of bankable green infrastructure projects, strengthen local capacity, and pave the way for a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous Africa. Africa50 is proud to serve as fund manager and drive this vital initiative forward."