Johannesburg - Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund, founded by two of South Africa’s richest men, has raised $345m to invest in electricity generation, transport and logistics in Africa.
The Johannesburg-based fund was established in 2012 by Johann Rupert, who has a net worth of $8.2bn according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and Phuthuma Nhleko, who is the chairperson of mobile phone company MTN Group.
The fund raised $245m and can access a further $100m from the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corp, Chief Executive Officer Herc van Wyk said by phone on Monday. The fund plans to raise as much as $500m for developing infrastructure on the continent, he said.
“We see interesting opportunities coming up in the infrastructure space,” Van Wyk said. “The opportunity, first and foremost, is power generation.”
African countries, including the two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, are beset by power shortages that limit economic growth, boost the cost of doing business and disrupt production.
Rupert is the chairperson of investment company Remgro [JSE:REM] and controls the world’s second-largest jewelry maker Richemont [JSE:CFR].
Nhleko, who founded investment company Pembani Group, led Africa’s biggest mobile phone company MTN [JSE:MTN] through it’s fastest rate of customer growth as chief executive officer, and is now chairperson.
Pembani Remgro is jointly owned by Remgro, Nhleko and the investment team led by Van Wyk.