GuarantCo collaborates with India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited to accelerate sustainable infrastructure investments in India

  • Date written
  • August, 2024

GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), a Government of India owned enterprise specialising in financing infrastructure sector, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore areas of mutual cooperation primarily focused on enabling funding to the growth of e-mobility, agricultural infrastructure and other sustainable infrastructure sectors in India.

GuarantCo collaborates with India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited to accelerate sustainable infrastructure investments in India

Nishant Kumar, Managing Director Asia at GuarantCo and Subhasis Dahl, General Manager at IIFCL

The MoU outlines the beginning of a long-term partnership between IIFCL and GuarantCo, with both parties seeking to leverage their respective strengths to support and finance infrastructure projects. The collaboration aims to explore various opportunities including portfolio guarantees, co-guarantees and partial guarantees for transactions funded by IIFCL.

GuarantCo, established in 2005, has been operating in India since 2008 and has since provided eleven financing solutions in the country totaling USD 362 million INR equivalent including the USD 200 million framework guarantee with Axis Bank in 2021 allowing mobilisation of funds between USD 300 and 400 million in local currency to finance the e-mobility ecosystem in India. This guarantee-backed debt funding, a first of its kind initiative in India, has subsequently led to successful closure of two transactions for Vivriti Capital and Everest Fleet with many others in the pipeline.

Layth Al-Falaki, CEO of GuarantCo, said:

“We are proud to have signed this Memorandum of Understanding with IIFCL, which will focus on exploring progressive sustainable financing, in line with PIDG’s and GuarantCo’s strategic plans. GuarantCo has been operating in India for sixteen years and has built very strong local partnerships over this period of time. The collaboration with IIFCL adds to our momentum in the country to the advantage of local people who will benefit from improved sustainable infrastructure.”

Dr. P.R. Jaishankar, Managing Director, IIFCL, said:

“With the signing of this MoU, IIFCL will be taking one more step ahead towards the growth of infrastructure sector. The collaboration between IIFCL and GuarantCo is aimed at exploring the areas of mutual interest, primarily focussed on enabling funding to the E-mobility, agricultural infrastructure and other sustainable infrastructure sectors in India. IIFCL has been playing a pivotal role in the infrastructure landscape of India since last eighteen years and will continue to embark on the journey of infrastructure growth”.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About GuarantCo

GuarantCo mobilises private sector local currency investment for infrastructure projects and supports the development of financial markets in lower income countries across Africa and Asia. GuarantCo is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden, through the PIDG Trust, the Netherlands, through FMO and the PIDG Trust, France through a stand-by facility and Global Affairs Canada through a repayable facility. GuarantCo is rated AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody’s. Since 2005, GuarantCo has enabled USD 6.8 billion of total investment and USD 5.7 billion of private sector investment, giving 44.7 million people access to infrastructure and creating around 243,000 jobs. GuarantCo’s activities are managed by GuarantCo Management Company which is part of Cardano Development www.guarantco.com

About PIDG

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) is an innovative infrastructure project developer and investor which mobilises private investment in sustainable and inclusive infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and south and south-east Asia. PIDG investments promote socio-economic development within a just transition to net zero emissions, combat poverty and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PIDG delivers its ambition in line with its values of pioneering, partnership, safety, inclusivity and urgency.
PIDG offers Technical Assistance for upstream, early-stage activities and concessional capital; its project development arm – which includes InfraCo Africa and InfraCo Asia – invests in early-stage project development and project and corporate equity. PIDG credit solutions include EAIF (the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund), one of the first and more successful blended debt fund in low-income markets; GuarantCo, its guarantee arm that provides credit enhancement and local currency solutions to de-risk projects; and a growing portfolio of local credit enhancement facilities, which unlocks domestic institutional capital for infrastructure financing.
Since 2002, PIDG has supported 233 infrastructure projects to financial close, which provided an estimated 228 million people with access to new or improved infrastructure. PIDG is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Global Affairs Canada, Germany, and the IFC pidg.org

About the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited

IIFCL is a government-owned financial institution that caters to the long-term financing needs of India’s infrastructure sector. It is amongst the most diversified public sector infrastructure lenders in terms of eligible infrastructure sub-sectors. IIFCL is also active in providing inputs and policy support in infrastructure financing space to the Government through various forums, with an aim to promote and develop world-class infrastructure in India. Since its inception in 2006, IIFCL has sanctioned more than ₹2.7 lakh crore to around 770 projects, with a total outlay of ₹13.8 lakh crore, and has disbursed over ₹1.3 lakh crore www.iifcl.in