(Ecofin Agency) - The international financial institution has participated in the final closing of the $70 million African Conservation and Community Tourism Fund. The funds raised will support tourism operators, hotels, and safari camps in sub-Saharan Africa.

On Monday, May 29, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced a $13 million investment in the African Community Conservation and Tourism Fund (ACCT Fund).

This investment will alleviate the short- to medium-term financial stress of ecotourism businesses in Eastern and Southern Africa, specifically safari camp, hotel, and lodge operators in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia, who are facing liquidity shortages.

“IFC's investment in the ACCT Fund will help financially affected ecotourism businesses to preserve jobs and contribute to the local economy. The partnership aligns with IFC's strategy to support the revival of domestic and regional tourism markets, and to use a blend of financing tools to support countries' development priorities,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa.

The African Conservation and Community Tourism Fund was set up in 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Based in Luxembourg, but investing in sub-Saharan Africa, it aims to provide flexible loans to ecotourism businesses that operate in conservation areas in Sub-Saharan Africa and are affected by this health crisis.

To date, the fund has completed its final closing, raising nearly $70 million from several international financial institutions. The IFC participated by committing $13 million. It committed 27% of its capital to tourism operators in Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania. Several other potential investments are currently being developed in Southern and East Africa. Initial loans from the ACCT fund have helped companies to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to renovate and develop their conservation management activities in protected areas. The fund will also support operators who can channel significant financial flows toward conservation activities in natural landscapes and for the benefit of wildlife.

Chamberline Moko