In brief: Helios inks first ESG-linked fund finance facility in Africa

Helios has secured Africa’s first ESG-linked capital call facility to finance Fund IV, which has a $1.4bn target.

Helios Investment Partners has secured the first ESG-linked capital call facility in Africa.

The facility will finance Helios’s fourth fund and has been arranged by Rand Marchant Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The interest rate is tied to Fund IV portfolio companies’ performance against ESG KPIs set by the arrangers.

ESG-linked fund financing is a growing market: KKR, Carlyle, EQT, Triton, FSN, BPEA and Eurazeo have secured ESG-linked credit facilities of more than $1 billion in the past two years.

Helios Fund IV launched in March 2020 and has a $1.4 billion target. Helios, an Africa-focused private equity firm, has yet to announce a first close for this fund.