Apicorp and IsDB launch USD 1 bn Infra Initiative: Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have launched a three-year, USD 1 bn initiative for private-sector focused infrastructure financing in countries including Egypt, according to a statement.

Who’s in line for funding? The Infra Initiative will finance renewable projects in electricity generation and transmission, water, and waste management in APICORP’s ten member countries, all of whom are also IsDB members: Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria and the UAE. Projects with private-sector involvement will be at the top of the priority list. Projects elsewhere within the 57 Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries will also be considered, if they are sponsored by a company headquartered in one of these ten countries.

The initiative aims to drive PPPs in energy projects. Infra is designed “to address low private sector participation in funding energy projects by incentivizing public-private partnerships (PPPs),” the statement reads. The initiative also hopes to mobilize financing for PPP projects from commercial and multilateral banks, development agencies and capital markets.

Background: Egypt holds a 3% stake in APICORP, which is a multilateral development institution targeting the development of renewable energy in oil-exporting nations, and a USD 3.6 bn capital subscription in IsDB, equivalent to nearly 7.1% of the bank’s total capital.