ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investments Limited (ARM-Harith) has closed its first tranche of approximately $76 million for its Climate Transition Fund, marking a major step in efforts to mobilise African institutional capital for infrastructure investment across sub-Saharan Africa.

The fund, described as Africa’s first integrated multi-currency blended finance vehicle for infrastructure equity, is targeting a final close of $200 million. It is structured to combine both United States dollar and local currency investments within a single platform, with a focus on financing climate-resilient infrastructure and energy transition projects across the region.

According to ARM-Harith, the structure is designed to address one of the key challenges facing infrastructure financing in Africa, namely the mismatch between hard currency funding and local currency revenues generated by infrastructure assets.

The model seeks to reduce currency risk at the project level while creating opportunities for greater participation by domestic institutional investors, particularly pension funds.

According to them, the first close was supported by a combined $20 million in catalytic capital from FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

ARM-Harith said the funding is intended to de-risk participation by domestic pension funds and other institutional investors while supporting broader efforts to mobilise local capital for infrastructure development.

The fund will be invested in essential infrastructure projects that deliver climate resilience, economic impact and stable cash flows across sub-Saharan Africa.

Chief Executive Officer of ARM-Harith, Rachel More-Oshodi, said the first close represented both a significant achievement and a turning point for the firm.

“This first close is both an achievement and an inflexion point for ARM-Harith. With our first fund, we demonstrated that domestic institutional capital can be mobilised into infrastructure equity. With this successor fund, we are building on that foundation by bringing local and hard-currency capital together within a single platform, better aligning the structure of the capital with the realities of African infrastructure assets,” the CEO said.

More-Oshodi added that the new structure was designed to reflect local market realities, attract international capital and improve risk allocation.

“The institutions that are backing us understand the significance of this shift. They are not only investing in a fund; they are helping to shape a more practical, scalable way to finance the infrastructure Africa needs,” she said.

Manager of AfDB’s Renewable Energy Funds Division, Joao Duarte Cunha, described the first close as a major milestone for renewable energy investment in the region.

“The successful first close of the ARM-Harith Successor Fund marks a major milestone for renewable energy investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. SEFA’s catalytic participation demonstrates the African Development Bank’s commitment to unlocking long-term institutional capital and shows how blended finance can mobilise private investment into sustainable infrastructure,” Cunha stated. Chief Investment Officer at FSDAi, Anne-Marie Chidzero, said the challenge had not been the availability of capital but the lack of investment products tailored to the needs of pension funds.

“The constraint has never been capital itself, but the absence of investment products suited to pension funds’ needs. Our structure bridges that gap, enabling pension funds to invest in infrastructure equity while remaining aligned with their objectives and obligations,” Chidzero noted.

ARM-Harith said its predecessor fund financed critical transport infrastructure and more than 700 megawatts of installed power capacity. The investments supported about 22,500 jobs and helped avoid an estimated 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.