31 October 2013, Sweetcrude/African Press Organization, APO, TUNIS, Tunisia — The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank, AfDB, (http://www.afdb.org) approved on Wednesday, October 30, a US$ 20 million equity investment in ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF). ARMHIF is a new infrastructure private equity fund based in Nigeria with a targeted fund size of USD 250 million.
The lack of efficient infrastructure is a major obstacle to doing business in West Africa. Better infrastructure in the region would create an enabling environment for economic growth by competitiveness of local production, promoting foreign direct investments and facilitating trade. The level of investment required for infrastructure development is far in excess of public and donor resources. The AfDB support to ARMHIF will catalyze further resources necessary to develop infrastructure projects.