The UK’s DFI is looking to up financing to Egypt: British International Investment, the UK government’s development finance arm, is planning to invest USD 6 bn in Africa over the next five years, with a substantial portion earmarked for debt and equity financing in “powerhouse markets” like Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, BII CEO Nick O’Donohoe told Bloomberg. This is part of a wider USD 10 bn program of investment that will be deployed around the world as well as an Africa strategy announced last year that will see it support climate finance and green infrastructure across the continent.

New Africa investment fund receives BII money: The BII has become an anchor investor in a USD 500 mn African infrastructure fund being raised by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), it announced yesterday. The lender has contributed USD 76 mn to the fund, which will invest in infrastructure, with at least 20% being deployed to green projects. FMO and AIIM sponsor Old Mutual are also limited partners, while the European Investment Bank is considering a USD 75 mn ticket.

BII plans to open an Egyptian office: In another step towards cementing its presence in Egypt, the BII’s Nigeria head told Techcrunch last month that the DFI plans to open an office here. The group appointed a coverage director for Egypt in 2020 to spearhead investment here. (Read our interview with Sherine Shohdy here.)

BII has been an active investor in Egypt for years: Back when it was called CDC Group, British International Investment was a shareholder of CIB. It has been a limited partner in funds raised by our friends at Sawari Ventures and Ezdehar, acquired a big stake in pharma maker Adwia, and provided financing for some 800 MW of capacity in the Benban solar park. More recently, it participated in fintech Paymob’s USD 50 mn series B round, which was the largest ever on record for Egypt, and infrastructure management platform Pylon’s USD 19 mn seed round. CDC rebranded as BII this pas April.