Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has recently concluded a first close of its real estate fund, Actis West Africa REIF( NREIF) at $45m.

Funke Okubadejo, Director Real Estate, Actis said: “We’re extremely pleased to announce first close of our West Africa focused Real Estate Fund focused on stabilised, yielding real estate assets.”

“We look forward to building on our sustainability track record in Real Estate with a focus on achieving an internationally recognised green certification, such as IFC Edge, for all assets within the portfolio,” she told Africa Global Funds.

When asked about the target size for the Fund, Okubadejo said: “Actis cannot comment publicly on fund size.”

Anchor investors in the first close included Stanbic IBTC Pensions Managers, FCMB Pensions Limited and Pensions Alliance. 

The Fund will invest in market leading, stabilised real estate assets across West Africa, with a special emphasis on Nigeria.

There are two main reasons for the emphasis on Nigeria, commented Okubadejo: “The first is that Nigeria features a number of Grade A assets in the target sectors. Secondly, the bulk of the investors in the NREIF have regulations that require 60% of the investments to be domiciled in Nigerian assets.”

NREIF will acquire and manage real estate assets across a range of sectors, including retail, office, industrial, education and healthcare.

All assets in the portfolio will attain a minimum standard of IFC Edge certification.

Okubadejo said that IFC Edge is a leading international green certification awarded by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

It has a guidelines which developers can follow to deliver residential and commercials buildings that are resource efficient, in a quick and affordable manner.

“It is important because it ensures that all the assets that will be admitted into the fund will be operating at an international standard for sustainability. This results in a lower carbon footprint for the building(s), lower lifecycle costs and ensures that the buildings remain relevant at the time of exit,” he said.

NREIF is the fourth vintage of Africa focused real estate funds managed by Actis. Actis has invested in the sector since 2004.

“Our previous vintages were development focused Funds which invested majorly in the greenfield developments or in brownfield assets requiring significant redevelopment/expansion. This Fund is an Income Fund which focuses on stabilised, yielding Grade A assets in gateway cities,” Okubadejo explained.

When asked about risks of investing, she said that key risks for real estate are a function of the stage of the development of assets.

“In the case of stabilised or core assets, the risks of market volatility from macro risks are lowest due to the high occupancy and the contracted cashflows,” she said.