Commonwealth Africa Investment Fund (COMAFIN)
The Commonwealth Africa Investment Fund (COMAFIN), set up in 1996, has invested in agro-business and horticulture projects, mobile communications, brewery, real estate, mining and private infrastructure in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
The confidence generated by COMAFIN helped to pave the way for a new fund for Africa - the Pan-Commonwealth Africa Partners - launched during the 2002 CHOGM. In promoting private flows, it supports a central objective of NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa's Development. The new Fund's investment strategy is to find and support businesses across all industry and service sectors to grow and achieve regional and trans-African operations. It had its first closure in June 2005. US$90 million has been committed by the International Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and FMO, the Dutch development agency. Active marketing is being undertaken with financial institutions in Commonwealth South and East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. A second generation fund is also planned for the South Asia region, the first having achieved 15 per cent net returns on capital invested.
Forest Carbon Finance