The Providers
Who holds the capital — and how their internal machinery works
This chapter goes inside each institution to answer the questions that matter: how does the approval process actually work, what are the unwritten rules, and which Africa-active institutions should you know by name? The gap between stated mandate and revealed portfolio is the central insight.
Inside an IFC pipeline (12–24 months)
- Concept Stage — informal management review (where most deals die quietly)
- Appraisal — 4–8 months: financial, ESIA, AIMM impact scoring, legal
- Investment Committee review
- Board approval (above $50–100M threshold)
- Legal documentation
- Conditions Precedent satisfaction (2–6 months)
- Disbursement
An IFC officer manages 15–25 active deals and can commit to 4–8 new deals per year. That is the funnel. Plan accordingly.
Unwritten rules by provider type
| Provider | Critical Unwritten Rule |
|---|---|
| Multilateral DFIs | Additionality is non-negotiable. Co-investment expected. Repeat relationships matter enormously. |
| Bilateral DFIs | Read the home government’s strategy paper — it tells you which sectors get the fastest internal approval. |
| Foundations | Programme officers fund leaders they trust more than projects they admire. Demonstrate operational capacity and reporting discipline. |
| Impact Funds | Cannot invest outside LP agreement parameters. Review their portfolio, not their mandate document. |
| Angel / HNWI | Most idiosyncratic and fastest. Entirely relational — no IC, no board, no ESIA. |
| African DFIs (DBSA, FSD, InfraCredit) | Faster, more context-aware, local-currency capable. Growing in importance as international aid flows weaken. |
Where you stand · the providers
You can list institutions but not individuals. Your outreach is going to generic inboxes.
An institutional mapping exercise to identify the right named officer and the right channel of approach.
You know people inside institutions but no one is internally advocating for your deal.
Champion-cultivation strategy: who to engage, how to position, what to deliver to make championship worthwhile for them.
You have an internal champion but the deal is not yet through Investment Committee.
IC-paper sharpening, additionality framing, and AIMM / ESIA preparation to clear internal review.