To improve the quality of infrastructure at Cabo Verde’s seven airports, and help them reduce greenhouse gas emissions, IFC announced a sustainability-linked financing package for Cabo Verde Airports SA, a subsidiary of VINCI Airports, that will support the country’s important tourism sector.

IFC will provide a loan of up to EUR 20 million from its own account to Cabo Verde Airports SA to help fund the refurbishment and greening of Cabo Verde’s entire network of four international and three domestic airports, which are spread across seven of the country’s islands in the Central Atlantic Ocean.

The financing is IFC’s first ever sustainability linked loan provided to a Cape Verdean company and is designed to incentivize the borrower’s achievement of environmental, social, and/or governance targets through pricing incentives.

With IFC’s support, Cabo Verde Airports SA will refurbish its airports and implement a decarbonization strategy through various renewable energy projects, including by improving LED lighting and installing more energy efficient cooling systems at the sites. The loan’s financial performance will be linked to two key indicators: greenhouse gas emission reduction and certification with Airport Carbon Accreditation, a global carbon management certification program for airports.

Cabo Verde Airports SA is a special purpose vehicle in charge of financing, operating, maintaining, expanding, and modernizing Cabo Verde’s seven airports for the next 40 years. Cabo Verde Airports SA is a subsidiary of VINCI Airports, the world’s first private airport operator, and its Portuguese subsidiary, Aeroportos de Portugal (ANA).

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Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Airports said: “VINCI Airports is proud of the trust the Cape Verdean government has placed in us. We are committed to supporting the country’s tourism growth while ensuring the environmental transformation of its airports. We warmly welcome our new colleagues from Cabo Verde Airports to the VINCI Airports network and we are now looking forward to getting down to work”.

“IFC is fully committed to supporting Cabo Verde position itself as a major tourism destination in sub-Saharan Africa and fully harness its growth potential,” said Olivier Buyoya, IFC Regional Director for West Africa. “IFC’s first investment in Cabo Verde’s infrastructure sector will contribute to the sustainable development of the country’s airport network and support long-term growth and job creation.”

Cabo Verde’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which represents 25 percent of GDP and drives around 40 percent of overall economic activity. By supporting the modernization of the airports, an important infrastructure asset, IFC will help bolster passenger traffic growth and strengthen Cabo Verde’s tourism industry, creating jobs and generating foreign currency revenues for the government.

IFC is committed to stepping up its investment and advisory support in Cabo Verde, focusing on tourism, infrastructure, green energy, health & access to finance.