Fsd Africa Commits Gbp 10 M In Arm-harith To Tap Nigerias Pension Power For Climate Equity

FSD Africa Investments FSDAi , a UK-backed specialist development finance investor, has announced a GBP 10 M USD 13.2 M commitment into Lagos-based private equity firm ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investment Limited to unlock local institutional capital-specifically local pension funds-for climate infrastructure development.

The investment, directed into ARM-Harith's Climate and Transition Infrastructure Fund ACT Fund, isn't just another capital injection it's a bold attempt to solve a problem that's kept billions in local pension assets parked on the sidelines.

For years, Nigerian pension funds have been hesitant to enter the infrastructure equity space. The long-term nature of these investments, combined with limited early returns and heightened risk, has made them difficult to justify.

FSDAi is stepping in with an approach tailored to break that stalemate. Their facility introduces a mechanism that offers early, predictable payouts, giving pension funds the kind of short-term liquidity they need to participate up front without compromising on long-term growth.

On top of that, 75 of FSDAi's commitment will be in local currency. This first-of-its-kind approach is specifically designed to mitigate the impact of foreign exchange volatility for pension funds, which has long discouraged domestic investment in infrastructure. This structure is expected to catalyse an additional GBP 31 M USD 41 M from Nigerian pension funds-five times the capital raised in ARM-Harith's previous fund.