UK development finance institution and impact investor CDC Group has formally renamed itself British International Investment (BII), with CE Nick O’Donohoe saying the organisation will build on the CDC’s legacy by inheriting its “unparalleled” experience of impact investing and deep-rooted knowledge of the markets in which it invests.
“BII is a strong, modern identity, which captures who we are and what we do. It communicates the increased breadth of what we do as an organisation. It also clearly defines us as a British institution that is working to bring not just capital but high standards and transparency to our investments,” he says.
Going forward, BII will invest between £1.5-billion and £2-billion a year in green infrastructure, technology and other sectors to support countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
Situated in seven locations across Africa, BII has a portfolio value of over $4-billion, with over 600 local businesses, including the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, FirstBank Nigeria, 14Trees, ETG, AfricInvest, Novastar, Zambeef, Equity Bank, Access Bank and the Redstone Concentrated Solar Power project.
“We will continue to solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.
“And, we will help to alleviate poverty by building productive, sustainable and inclusive economic outcomes for those that need fair and transparent investment the most,” says O’Donohoe.
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary Liz Truss says the revamped BII is at the heart of Britain’s financing offer to low- and middle-income countries and the UK’s “ambitious plan” to mobilise up to £8-billion of investment a year, by 2025.
“We will provide reliable and honest sources of finance to low- and middle-income nations . . . creating jobs and export opportunities,” she adds.
Further, BII builds on a 74-year record of forming strong partnerships with thousands of ambitious businesses to create positive social and economic outcomes for the countries in which it operates.
BII is focussed on helping to address the huge challenge that climate change presents across Africa.
In this regard, at least 30% of its total investments over the next five years will be in climate finance, thereby making it one of the largest such investors in African economies.
The BII has also set a new ambition to scale investment into a range of vital sectors, including clean infrastructure, digital transformation and earlier-stage, disruptive businesses that offer radical solutions to the key development challenges in Africa.
UK network of nongovernmental organisations Bond policy, advocacy and research director Simon Starling, meanwhile, commented that the network hoped the change would "strengthen the UK’s focus on addressing the root causes of poverty through building and nurturing truly sustainable, inclusive and just economies, while leaving no one behind.”