Draft:GuarantCo

GuarantCo was established in 2015 and provides long-term local currency credit solutions to finance sustainable infrastructure projects and develop local capital markets in lower income countries in Africa and Asia.

Background
The organization was founded as part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). GuarantCo's activities are managed by GuarantCo Management Company which is part of Cardano Development. GuarantCo was established in 2005 in Port Louis, Mauritius, to enable sustainable infrastructure in lower income countries across Africa and Asia by mobilising private sector funding.

GuarantCo is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden through the PIDG Trust, the Netherlands through FMO and the PIDG Trust, France through a stand-by facility and Canada through a repayable facility provided by Global Affairs Canada.

The company is governed by a Board of Directors. GuarantCo's CEO is Layth Al-Falaki.

Partnerships
In 2017, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and GuarantCo co-founded a credit guarantee company InfraCredit Nigeria to develop infrastructure in Nigeria, by providing financing solutions to local currency infrastructure bonds. GuarantCo provided a USD 50 million callable funding facility to allow InfraCredit to achieve a high domestic rating to increase its attractiveness to bond investors.

In 2019, GuarantCo provided a 2.5 billion partial credit guarantee to investors in Acorn’s KES 5 billion note programme to fund the construction of accommodation for 5,000 students in Nairobi.

In 2021, GuarantCo provided InfraZamin Pakistan with a contingent capital facility of PKR 8.25 billion (USD 50 million) to invest in renewable energy, healthcare, transport, and digital communications infrastructure projects.

In 2022, GuarantCo provided Axis Bank, the third largest bank in India, with a USD 200 million INR equivalent guarantee to accelerate the e-mobility eco-system in India.

In 2021, GuarantCo provided PRAN Agro, a Bangladesh leading agro processor, with a 100% credit guarantee for a BDT 2.1 billion (USD 25 million) on-shore bond with a 7-year tenor to attract domestic institutional capital from Bangladesh and support PRAN Agro's expansion plans.

In 2022, GuarantCo provided a VND 1,150 billion (c. USD 50 million) partial credit guarantee to support a VND 1,725 billion (c. USD 75 million) bond issuance by EVNFinance, a premier non-bank financial institution in Vietnam. Vietcombank Securities (VCBS) a leading investment bank and securities firm in Vietnam acted as the mandate lead arranger on the transaction.