Financial terms were not disclosed.

The partnership will mobilize private capital in Africa at scale to expand climate funding and boost the rise of private credit as a new asset class, said Leslie Maasdorp, Chief Executive Officer of BII, the UK government's development finance institution.

Under the memorandum of understanding, PIC, Africa's biggest fund manager, and BII will create a framework to jointly explore co-investment opportunities across Africa.

Priorities include small and medium enterprise financing, financial inclusion, green economy transitions and infrastructure in countries in Southern, Eastern and Western Africa, PIC said.

Investment opportunities will be considered on a case-by-case basis, a PIC spokesperson said in an e-mail.

Africa faces an annual infrastructure and climate finance gap of more than $100 billion, according to the African Development Bank. Many bilateral donors are pulling back due to domestic fiscal and political pressures.

PIC manages three trillion rand ($166.72 billion) in assets. BII has an Africa portfolio of $5.6 billion.

--Reuters--