Yielco seeks digital infra funds for sustainability goals

Yielco Investments AG is looking for digital infrastructure funds to include isolated communities and support the energy transition. Yielco is a Munich-headquartered fund of funds with €6.3 billion in assets under management.

Software to improve the efficiency and reliability of renewable power generation can help wean markets off fossil fuel power generation, Yielco’s co-head of infrastructure Claudio Ghisu told delegates at affiliate title Infrastructure Investor’s Global Summit in Berlin.

Digital inclusion in emerging markets and isolated communities within developed markets is a key social issue, said Ghisu. “Three billion people in the world don’t have access to the internet. Connectivity is a key right to enhance the wellbeing of society. You can’t look away from that. You’ve got to allocate capital to solve these topics.”

These ideas strongly correlate with the UN’s ninth Sustainable Development Goal: technical enhancements in infrastructure is target 9.a and access to information and communications technology is target 9.c.

Ghisu is keen to invest in high-yield fibre, data centres, cloud storage, telecommunications, cellular towers and other emerging technologies to connect people and support renewable energy generation. He’s focused on isolated parts of developed markets as well as emerging markets.

But “I just can’t find many” funds focused on digital infrastructure, specifically in under-connected areas, Ghisu added. “So we have to look for managers that don’t say they’re a digital infrastructure fund but they do a lot of digital infrastructure or focus in the right market.”