Côte d’Ivoire has secured a €171mn loan from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) for the construction and expansion of dozens of maternity clinics in the West African country.
The transaction, signed in recent weeks, is backed with reinsurance from Poland’s export credit agency (ECA) Kuke and sees Standard Chartered participate as structuring bank, arranger and facility agent. EIFO is the sole funder.
Côte d’Ivoire’s government will use the proceeds to construct 15 new maternity clinics in the West African country, and to enhance 28 facilities that were originally built with support from Standard Chartered and the same ECAs three years ago.
As with the previous transaction, UAE-headquartered firm Alliad (formerly GCC Services) has been selected as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Peter Boeskov, chief commercial officer at EIFO, says the loan will boost exports from Danish SMEs and larger corporates, such as suppliers of healthcare equipment and logistics services.
“EIFO holds a positive long-term view on Côte d’Ivoire and this is a project with an important health care mission,” he says.
ECAs remain a vital tool for Sub-Saharan Africa’s social infrastructure sector, helping fund projects such as schools and hospitals which typically do not generate profits and are less appealing to investors.
Amid soaring debt levels and squeezed fiscal headroom in Sub-Saharan Africa, governments often require external funding for social infrastructure development, yet financing sources are strained.
Dorota Filant, Kuke’s head of infrastructure and real estate, says the deal will also bolster Polish exports in a range of sectors.
“This project brings together Polish manufacturers of cables, sanitary equipment, generators, fencing, lighting, ceramic tiles, and electrical devices… providing safe childbirth conditions for women in this country”.
Kuke, a relative newcomer in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been working to expand its coverage on the continent through its Shop in Poland initiative which matches Polish suppliers with international EPC contractors.
Last year, Kuke backed a US$73mn social loan led by Standard Chartered to finance the expansion of a university in Angola, and expects to grow its exposures in sub-Saharan Africa to €5bn in the coming 18 months.
Yoshi Ichikawa, head of Europe, development and agency finance at Standard Chartered, says the project is “very meaningful” and supports the Ivorian government’s strategy to improve maternity service and health of newborns across the country.
He says the bank played a key role in structuring the 2021 deal, as well as the latest financing package.
“Our team has been an expert in this area, connecting EPC contractors of any nationality with suitable export credit agencies,” he tells GTR. “This is a multi-site project with vast requirements. Not all the goods and services could be sourced from one country.
“This particular ECA-backed financing that our team structured was so effective that it led to the second commercial contract for GCC,” he adds.
