Lagos, 23 September 2011  Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) was today awarded  the  ‘Leadership in Sustainable Investment in Africa’ award for the Cabeolica wind farm project, at the Investment and Business Leader Awards held during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington DC, USA.   The Cape Verde based Cabeolica wind farm project is the first commercial scale Public Private Partnership (PPP) wind farm in Sub-Saharan Africa.

AFC is an African-led international  multilateral financial institution, established in 2007 whose mission is to improve African economies by proactively developing, structuring and financing infrastructure, industrial and financial assets.  AFC is involved as an investor, developer and financier of various infrastructure projects, and is gaining recognition as the benchmark institution for financing the development of private sector led power projects in Africa.

AFC is the lead investor in Cabeolica SA, which was established to develop, build, own and operate the US$90 million, 26MW landmark renewable energy wind power project in Cape Verde.   The PPP with the Government of Cape Verde and the national power utility, Electra, entails the construction of 30 wind turbines on four of the seven inhabited islands of the mid-Atlantic archipelago.   Construction, installation and commissioning of the turbines will be completed in 2011.

The project is financed with equity from the Africa Finance Corporation, Finnfund, InfraCo Africa, Electra and the Government of Cape Verde.  Debt financing is provided by the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank.

In recognition of this landmark transaction Mr Andrew Alli, President and Chief Executive Officer AFC, said “AFC has strengthened its commitment to pioneering renewable energy investments on the continent with a co-developer and lead investor role in this project. This investment underscores our strategic focus in leveraging results oriented Pan-African partnerships, building on the foundation for a sustained replication of renewable energy projects across Africa, and enables infrastructure development in a turbulent global economic climate”.