AFRICA – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a US$10-million equity investment in Razorite Healthcare Africa Fund 1 (RHAF1) to help improve healthcare infrastructure delivery across the continent.
The investment will resource the Fund to address growing demands for affordable and quality healthcare services in several countries of Sub-Saharan Africa faced lack of access to low cost, first-class healthcare.
RHAF1, to be registered in Mauritius, will provide growth capital to operating healthcare infrastructure facilities which show high potential for growth, as well as build new facilities, where identified as necessary.
The Fund is expected to increase bed capacity in Africa by over 1,500 and create over 500 jobs over its life span. It will also support the development of local enterprises and private infrastructure in the healthcare infrastructure sector.
The Fund targets final capitalization of US$100 million. The Bank expects its equity investment of US$10 million to catalyze financing from other development finance institutions (DFIs) and commercial investors.
As an advisory Board member, the Bank will ensure that the Fund and its portfolio of projects adhere to social, environmental and corporate governance best practices.
The Bank recently unveiled a COVID-19 Response Facility that will mobilise up to US$10 billion to assist regional member countries in fighting the pandemic. The Facility will be the institution’s primary channel for addressing the crisis.
Healthcare-focused private equity funds in Africa with the capability to build equipment and an integrated eco-system across healthcare facilities and service providers are very limited. Target groups include low and middle-income class and vulnerable sectors.
The advent of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has highlighted the need to boost Africa’s healthcare infrastructure system to curb the spread of the pandemic and any future similar crises and build long term resilience.
Meanwhile, AfDB and partners are set to host an online #AfricaVsVirus Challenge to develop effective solutions to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Challenge is open to entrepreneurs, companies, civil society organizations and governments with bankable solutions or ventures to address the pandemic.
The top pitches will be eligible to win thousands of dollars’ worth of financial, technical and skills-learning support to advance their implementation.
“COVID-19’s impact on the global economy is pushing millions of people, especially women and young people, into unemployment, underemployment and working poverty. Part of our response is the #AfricaVsVirus Challenge,” said Tapera Muzira, Coordinator of the African Development Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy.
“This online Challenge will channel youth creativity and innovation to real life solutions that mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on health, the economy, SMEs and jobs,” he added..
AfricaVsVirus Challenge is part of the Bank’s strategy to support young African entrepreneurs – especially young women entrepreneurs – and their SMEs and startups by providing an enabling environment to innovate appropriate solutions to the COVID-19 crisis.
The Bank’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, working closely with the Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund is hosting the ideathon, with partners Seedstars digital agency WAAT and development consultants Luvent Consulting.
