In Africa, we often speak of the “infrastructure gap” as if it were a riddle waiting to be solved by sheer capital injection. But what if the real issue is not the lack of money, but the architecture of trust that underpins it?
In a revealing interview with The Southern African Times, Christopher Chijiutomi, Managing Director and Head of Africa at British International Investment (BII), challenges conventional investment assumptions and brings forward a compelling thesis: blended finance isn’t a buzzword—it’s the bridge.
Filmed on the sidelines of The Africa Debate in London, hosted by Invest Africa, the conversation traverses the practical realities facing African governments, DFIs, and private investors alike. One particular case stands out: South Africa’s energy sector. As the state steps back from long-term power purchase guarantees, developers and financiers are left exposed.
Enter Etana—a new risk-sharing platform co-financed by BII and UK-backed PIDGE. With a $50 million anchor investment, Etana now provides a guarantee facility for energy producers trading power on the open exchange. This isn’t theory. It’s capital structured with foresight, where the risk is shared, not transferred, and African markets remain investible—even as traditional safeguards fall away.
Chijiutomi speaks candidly about how BII works alongside pension funds in Zambia and leverages crowd-in capital to catalyse broader market participation. “What success looks like,” he says, is not just closing a deal—but building ecosystems where capital can recycle, expand, and endure.
For anyone serious about African infrastructure, DFIs, or unlocking long-term capital for transformative growth, this is not just an interview—it’s a strategic blueprint.
