Ninety One has closed its third Africa Credit Opportunities Fund with $404 million, including leverage, as the investment manager expands private lending to companies and infrastructure projects across Africa and other emerging markets. Investors include development finance institutions, pension funds and family offices from Africa, Europe, the UK, the US and Canada.
The fund, known as ACO3, focuses on senior secured private credit, with low financial leverage and protections for lenders. It has made more than 30 investments across Africa, Latin America, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, covering communications, consumer businesses, financial services, healthcare, industry and materials. Ninety One said the fund has also completed several exits.
ACO3 reached a $260 million first close in November 2024. IFC, British International Investment and Swiss development finance institution SIFEM were anchor investors, while Standard Bank provided a $45 million debt facility linked to climate and social targets. The final close takes Ninety One’s Emerging Market Senior Credit strategy to $815 million raised across 3 funds.
The strategy has deployed more than $1.4 billion, including recycled capital, through more than 100 counterparties in over 30 countries. Ninety One’s Africa Credit Opportunities strategy dates to 2014 and targets about 75% of its investments in Africa and 25% in other emerging markets. The firm managed $244 billion of assets as of June 30.
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Ninety One said demand for private credit is being supported by a gap between the amount of financing businesses and infrastructure projects need and what banks and public debt markets provide. ACO3 is led by Steven Loubser and Kobina Sam, whose team has managed private and alternative credit investments in emerging markets for 18 years. The fund will continue deploying capital while seeking returns from secured loans to borrowers that may have fewer financing options than companies in developed markets.
Key Takeaways
The $404 million close shows how private credit is becoming another source of capital for African businesses and infrastructure projects. Bank loans remain the main form of debt financing across much of the continent, while corporate bond markets are smaller and access to international debt can change with interest rates, currencies and investor risk appetite. That leaves room for funds that can lend directly and structure repayment terms around each borrower.
Ninety One is targeting that gap through senior secured loans, which sit higher in the repayment order and are backed by protections designed to limit losses if a borrower runs into trouble. The strategy also gives global institutions a way to invest in African credit without lending to each company themselves.
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ACO3 is not limited to Africa, which allows the manager to spread exposure across regions and sectors, but Africa remains the core market. The fund’s growth from a $260 million first close in 2024 to $404 million also shows that investors were willing to add capital after the fund began deploying money. For African companies, the wider point is that private markets are becoming a larger part of the funding mix alongside banks, public bonds, development finance and equity.
