GuarantCo guarantees Senegal’s debut sustainability-linked securitisation, sponsored by Senelec

  • Date written
  • November, 2025

GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has completed its first transaction in Senegal with an up to USD 50 million payment default guarantee for a pioneering USD 213 million bond sponsored by Société Nationale d'Electricité du Sénégal (Senelec), the national power utility. This transaction will enable Senelec to finance nine new renewable energy projects aligned to its corporate sustainability goals.

GuarantCo guarantees Senegal’s debut sustainability-linked securitisation, sponsored by Senelec

Senelec will use the proceeds of the Green Bond component of the issuance to finance 585MW of solar power generation and a 329MW Battery Energy Storage System. The transaction will enable reliable access to energy for 1.8 million end users and avoid estimated 853k tCO₂e annually. It therefore supports progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 13 (climate action). The significant mobilisation of private capital achieved by this transaction is aligned to SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

The guarantee was provided over part of the senior tranche of the dual-labelled Green Bond and Sustainability-Linked Bond issued by the FCTC Senelec 2025-2030 (the “Local Bond”), a securitisation Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) based in Togo. This marks the first issuance of a Green Bond by a public company in Africa and the first bond issuance in Africa to obtain a dual label (Green Bond and Sustainability-Linked Bond). The guaranteed bond was subscribed to by Symbiotics, with M&G Investments providing the liquidity and being the bond’s anchor investor. The Local Bond was arranged and managed by BOAD Titrisation (BT).

The Local Bond was purchased by a Symbiotics-arranged vehicle in Luxembourg, which took the benefit of the GuarantCo guarantee and issued a guaranteed bond, which was fully subscribed to by M&G Investments. This transaction marks the continuation of the successful cooperation between M&G Investments, Symbiotics and GuarantCo, after the closing of the benchmark maiden transaction with Valency International in September.

Dave Chalila, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Investments, GuarantCo, said:

“We are very proud to have played a central role in the first sustainability-linked securitisation in Senegal and the first double-labelled bond issuance in Africa. The guarantee provided by GuarantCo was essential to the completion of this complex yet highly impactful transaction. By de-risking the senior tranche of the bond issuance, we have succeeded in crowding in an international institutional investor and mobilising private capital flows into West African sustainable infrastructure. The demonstration of this model has the potential to develop local capital markets and deliver the necessary market transformation to finance renewable energy at scale.” 

Adji Sokhna M’Baye, Managing Director, BOAD Titrisation, said:

“This achievement goes beyond finance — it embodies a shared commitment to sustainable growth and energy access for all. Together with GuarantCo, we are proud to contribute to a new generation of impact-driven financing solutions that serve both the people and the planet.”

Toby Gaye, Managing Director of Senelec, said:

“Energy sovereignty stands at the core of Vision 2030. The FCTC Senelec 2025–2030 transaction is a tangible step towards making that vision a reality. We are delighted that Senegal is taking a decisive step forward with the launch of the FCTC Senelec 2025-2030 operation. This unprecedented securitisation, worth 120 billion CFA francs, benefits from a double international label: Green Bond and Sustainability-Linked Bond. 

“This operation responds to the orientations set by the new authorities in Vision 2030, which places energy at the heart of national sovereignty. It is based on four priorities: 1. Ensuring universal access to electricity, 2. Massively develop renewable energies, 3. Modernise electrical infrastructure, 4. Reducing energy dependence to assert the country’s strategic independence. We are honoured to have the trust of our partners BOAD Titrisation, GuarantCo, M&G Investments and Symbiotics, whom we thank warmly.” 

Maria Redondo, Director at M&G Investments, said:

“This transaction demonstrates how robust credit enhancement and innovative structuring can open up new investment opportunities for institutional investors and support sustainable infrastructure in emerging markets. The guarantee provided by GuarantCo not only strengthens the credit profile of the investment but also gives us the confidence to deploy capital at scale in support of Senegal’s energy transition. We are proud to continue our partnership with GuarantCo and Symbiotics, enabling institutional capital to drive positive environmental and social outcomes, including expanding access to reliable energy for people across Senegal and contributing to the country’s long-term development goals.” 

Philipp Jung, Director at Symbiotics, said:

“We are very happy to see the continued cooperation with M&G and GuarantCo to enable capital to flow in impactful transactions in emerging and frontier markets. The Senelec transaction is an outstanding example of how powerful this cooperation can be.”

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, and Global Affairs Canada plus France through a stand-by facility. GuarantCo is rated AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody’s. Since 2005, GuarantCo has enabled USD 7.1 billion of total investment and USD 6.8 billion of private sector investment, giving 44.8 million people improved access to infrastructure and creating around 248,000 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 southeast 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; invests in early-stage project development and project and corporate equity through its project development solution, InfraCo; its debt solution EAAIF (the Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund) is one of the first and more successful blended debt funds in low-income markets; and its guarantees solution, GuarantCo, provides credit enhancement and local currency solutions to de-risk projects. PIDG also supports a growing portfolio of local credit enhancement facilities, which unlock domestic institutional capital for infrastructure financing.

 

Since 2002, PIDG has supported 258 infrastructure projects to financial close, which provided an estimated 232 million people with access to new or improved infrastructure. PIDG is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden, and Global Affairs Canada. www.pidg.org

About Senelec

Senelec was created in 1983 to ensure the production, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in Senegal. Although it has the status of a public limited company, Senelec is fully controlled and regulated by the State of Senegal, due to its public service mission and its strategic position within the Senegalese government socio-economic ecosystem of the country. Senelec also takes care of the identification, financing and construction of new structures to ensure the proper completion of its missions of general interest, namely to provide the Senegalese population and companies established in Senegal with electricity in quantity, quality and at a competitive price with an orientation towards cleaner energies.

About BOAD Titrisation

BOAD Titrisation, established in 2011 and majority-owned by the West African Development Bank (BOAD), is the first asset management company in the WAEMU region approved by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) to manage securitisation funds (FCTC). The company structures and manages innovative financing vehicles to support development across West Africa. Over the past decade, BOAD Titrisation has led several landmark transactions, including sovereign and corporate asset-backed deals, contributing to the deepening and diversification of regional capital markets.

About Symbiotics

Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to private markets in emerging and frontier economies. The group offers investment, asset management and capacity building services. Since 2005, we have originated over 8,200 investments representing more than USD 10.5 billion for 608 companies in 99 countries. We manage an aggregate portfolio of USD 2.5 billion spread across 19 funds and mandates. Our portfolio companies have also benefited from over 170 technical assistance projects worth more than USD 19 million. symbioticsgroup.com

About M&G Investments

M&G Investments is part of M&G plc, a savings and investment business which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Prudential plc’s UK and Europe savings and insurance operation and M&G, its wholly owned international investment manager. M&G plc listed as an independent company on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019 and has £354.6 billion of assets under management (as of 30 June 2025). M&G plc has customers in the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, including individual savers and investors, life insurance policy holders and pension scheme members.

 

For nearly nine decades M&G Investments has been helping its customers to prosper by putting investments to work, which in turn creates jobs, homes and vital infrastructure in the real economy. Its investment solutions span equities, fixed income, multi asset, cash, private debt, infrastructure and real estate. M&G recognises the importance of responsible investing and is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and is a member of the Climate Bonds Initiative Partners Programme.

 

M&G plc has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions on its total book of assets under management and administration by 2050 and committed to reduce operational carbon emissions as a corporate entity to net zero by 2030. For more information, please visit: https://global.mandg.com/