A second fund is in the works as the first one nears close.

Seven years ago, Hussein Sefian left his high-paying job as head of strategy and strategic investments at BNP Paribas to found Acre Impact Capital, an Africa-focused infrastructure fund manager.

He chose to set up Acre after “finally discovering what I wanted to do when I grow up”, he tells Infralogic.

Formerly in charge of driving sustainable finance strategy at the French bank, Sefian says his spark was lit by making investments that delivered real on-the-ground impact.

Although fundraising in Africa is not for the fainthearted given economic and political uncertainties, the manager is closing in on some key milestones for its first impact infrastructure focused fund, Acre Export Finance I, a debt vehicle focused only on export finance projects.

The US dollar fund, which provides around 15% of a project’s debt while the rest is funded by Export Credit Agency-backed debt, is anticipated to reach final close this summer, he says.

The fund, which hit a USD 100m first close in April 2024 and targets gross low teen returns, has a fundraising target of USD 200m and hard cap of USD 300m.

It targets renewable energy, health, food and water scarcity, sustainable cities and green transport projects across 30 countries in Africa.

Its projects include funding a utility-scale solar project in Angola, which provided power to over 500,000 people. It has also financed a storm drainage infrastructure project in Western Africa and three regional hospitals in Southern Africa, he says, adding it is currently around 40% deployed and aims to complete around 10 transactions.

Gaining LP traction

Acre targets three classes of LPs, including development finance institutions (DFI), African banks and family offices. Existing LPs in the fund include the Rockefeller Foundation, UK DFI Financial Sector Deepening Africa, impact-focused family office Ceniarth and the EIB, Investec, RMB and Standard Bank.

One of the fund’s most recent investors, last December, was the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets with a USD 12.5m commitment. The fund is also getting traction from African pension funds which are showing greater interest in pan-African investments, as well as European allocators driven by impact mandates, he says.

But Sefian admits it has not been an easy start, with a lot of investors saying they weren’t able to commit to the vehicle as they don’t invest in first vintages, he explains.

Acre has done a lot of work to educate LPs, which are finally engaging with the firm’s strategy which he says “from a risk/return perspective, is one of the safest ways to gain Africa exposure”, a reference to the fact its projects are always backed by ECAs.

With COP 2025 passing in Brazil last November without a firm roadmap for getting the Paris climate agreement back on track, more LPs are rolling up their sleeves.

“Effectively they are saying that if others don’t step up, then we need to take a leadership role”, Sefian says.

Going forward, Acre plans to launch a second fund, although marketing for the vehicle has not yet started, he says.

The fund will aim for a target north of the first, with a similar focus on climate-aligned infrastructure in emerging markets, perhaps with a broader geographic scope, he says, adding that the final calibration will depend on the close of the first fund.

Sefian is hoping that a lot of LPs that weren’t able to invest in the first fund will participate in the fundraising for fund two.

On top of this, Acre, which is also led by managing partners Chris Mitman and Faisal Khan, is hoping for stickiness from its existing LPs, who will hopefully be confident to commit more capital this time around.

Sefian said he is excited for the challenges that lie ahead, although with any luck, the next seven years won’t be as difficult as the first.