British International Investment

Garden City

East AfricaConstruction & Real estate

Nairobi’s Garden City is a $540 million phased project is one of the largest mixed-use real estate developments in Africa. It has over 400 residential units, and 33,500 square metres of retail space spread across three floors.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

CDC and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced an investment of $32 million in Garden City. The investment will comprise $25m from CDC and $7 million from the IFC.

The project created over 500 direct jobs during the construction phase and over 600 more once the project was completed.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

The development has provided vital jobs in Nairobi, and has benefited the local economy through the development of its supply chain and infrastructure.

Local businesses have supplied goods and services to the mall and our investment also supported entrepreneurship among local artisans, including a market which has given them access to consumers without the overhead of permanent retail space.

Garden City also contributed to improving skills for workers and local firms involved in the development as it adhered to strong construction quality standards.

Few investors have an appetite for green-field real estate projects in sub-Saharan Africa, so this investment sends out a strong signal of our commitment to Kenya’s economic potential.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    June 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D186
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    East Africa
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    Kenya
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Construction & Real estate

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investments :
    Type Amt Curr Start
    Debt $20m USD 12/2013
    Equity $4.69m USD 12/2013
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Mauritius

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