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Lion’s Head worked with the Tanzanian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to provide financial advisory services in investment structuring and financing guidance for the development of a Special Economic Zone in the Textile Industry.

Lion’s Head is provided advice to the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit of the National Treasury of Kenya, on how to access local currency finance from the local markets to finance infrastructure projects in the country.

The World Bank and the Planning Institute of Jamaica, an agency of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, mandated Lion’s Head to carry out a study on how to facilitate investment by the Jamaican diaspora into the Jamaican economy. The objective of the assignment was to understand the feasibility of a diaspora-specific investment product and to carry out its initial design and identify a roadmap to market.  

The feasibility study spans assessing precedents and carrying out market research to understand the specific preferences of the Jamaican Diaspora, such that the resulting instrument can be optimally designed to successfully attract these investors, whilst also taking into account the Government of Jamaica’s own priorities and those of the local financial institutions.  

The World Bank Group hired a consortium led by Lion’s Head to advise the National Housing Corporation (NHC) on financing options to fund an ambitious pipeline for decent and affordable housing. NHC aims to develop 30,000 housing units between 2013 and 2017 and is seeking financing from the local debt capital markets.

The consortium is conducting a shadow credit rating on NHC, developing a financial model for NHC projects, structuring and marketing the debt financing in the local capital market. Equity Investment Bank and NIC Capital will lead any placement and execution of the transaction following the preparation phase, with support from Lion’s Head.

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Lion’s Head has been advising International Housing Solutions (IHS), which is in the process of structuring and raising two new funds: The South Africa Affordable Green Housing Development Fund (DevFund), targeting investments in South Africa, as well as the Kenya Rental Housing Fund. Both funds are seeking to address a shortage in the affordable rental housing space. DevFund will develop units, stabilize and lease up the assets, developing a track record of financial performance, and exit at a premium, leaving long-term investors with a de-risked asset. The Kenya Rental Housing Fund (KRHF) is a private Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with a similar strategy to DevFund but focused on Nairobi and other large urban centres in Kenya.  

Lion’s Head is advising IHS in structuring the vehicles and is raising capital from institutional investors globally. Given that the commercial and legal structures for both funds are well advanced, Lion’s Head’s support for IHS largely focuses on reviewing the fund structure, supporting on investor engagement and materials, and will continue until the successful close of the transaction.

Genesis Energy are an Independent Power Producer (IPP) based in West Africa with an operating capacity of over 100 MW. They operate across a broad range of energy sub-sectors, including thermal and renewable as well as oil and gas.  

Genesis engaged Lion’s Head to support them with their expansion into Eastern and Southern Africa through the acquisition of qualifying energy projects. Lion’s Head’s role has been to source and scope out investment opportunities for acquisition, develop a target portfolio and to support negotiation of terms, leveraging our extensive local knowledge and expertise.

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Lion’s Head advised the African Development Bank (AfDB) on a new initiative to mobilize large volumes of capital from domestic and international sources to fund infrastructure development on the African continent. This involved identifying weaknesses and opportunities in financing models and developing tailored solutions. These include bridge loans and partial credit guarantees for project finance. This led to creation of a new entity, Africa50, separate from the AFDB and with significantly more financial and operational flexibility to meet the needs of the sector.

Lion’s Head are advising new power trading intermediary in Africa, initially advising on the financial feasibility of the platform. Africa GreenCo aims to improve the power market ecosystem and address offtaker creditworthiness by acting as a principal in the market. AGC aims to purchase power from a portfolio of projects and sell this power on to utilities. In case of default, AGC anticipates selling the power to an alternative utility – i.e. eliminate default risk through offtaker diversification.

Lion’s Head has acted as transaction adviser and lead arranger to SA Taxi, a specialist South African lender providing secured finance to previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs in the public transport sector.

Lion’s Head initially helped the company raise funding in the USD market for a new asset-backed SPV, “SA Taxi Impact Finance”, raising a facility of USD 200 million from US development and impact investors, led by OPIC, New Island Capital Management, Microvest and the Calvert Foundation.  

Following this, Lion’s Head helped the company raise a further USD 100 million in on-balance sheet funding for “SA Taxi Development Finance” from the African Development Bank.  

SA Taxi funds itself through domestic and international sources and has established a number of non-recourse SPVs for asset-backed financing. The SA Taxi Impact Finance SPV will be used to fund further growth of its loan book.

Lion’s Head has supported the USAID INVEST programme extensively for several years, working across multiple workstreams. Through INVEST, USAID seeks to unlock the potential of private capital to drive inclusive growth in countries around the world. Increasingly, private investors and businesses are looking to emerging markets for better returns and new market opportunities. Encouraging investment in high-impact areas important to USAID such as agriculture, financial services, infrastructure, energy, clean water, health, and education, requires new forms of collaboration between USAID and the investment community.  

To inform a new strategy for USAID on how to engage with partners to mobilise corporate resources to deepen social and environmental impact, Lion’s Head worked on 2 (of 3) workstreams through 2018: (1) the most innovative corporate venturing/investment models and how USAID can support/partner with them; (2) the innovative uses of CSR and other corporate assets to ensure long-term business growth. Lion’s Head assessed and categorised these models and structured partnership opportunities for USAID to crowd-in investment; and conducted a deep dive to assess model (CSR) viability in Tunisia.

In 2019, USAID contracted Lion’s Head under the USAID INVEST mechanism to identify a pipeline of 40 investable deals to demonstrate the breadth and depth of investment opportunities across Southern and Eastern Africa. As the pipeline developed, Lion’s Head developed funding proposals to USAID for transaction advisory services. This mandate aimed to leverage USAID resources to raise awareness of investment opportunities in Southern and Eastern Africa, lower transaction costs, and mitigate investment risks that generate positive social, economic and environmental impact.

Lion's Head were also engaged by USAID to cultivate relationships with US institutional investment and financial services across Africa, and to increase investment by US institutional investors in Africa. This activity also aimed to support and enhance the USAID Prosper Africa initiative, a U.S. Government initiative that seeks to unlock opportunities to do business in Africa, benefiting companies, investors, and workers in both Africa and the United States.

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Lion’s Head acted as transaction advisor to Renergen Ltd, a South African integrated energy and natural resources company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s AltX. As the lead transaction advisor, Lion’s head secured US$40 million of debt financing from OPIC to allow Renergen to commence upstream and midstream operations to extract and supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) and helium to South African and international buyers.

Lion’s Head was engaged by Rotan Energy, a power developer, to assist with initial fund raising for a 660MW combined cycle gas-to-power project near Takoradi. Following agreement of the PPA, Rotan required development capital to fund activities through to financial close. The original project plan involved importation of LNG through a Floating Offshore Regasification Unit (FSRU), to be transported onshore and to fuel barge mounted turbines, to supply power into the national grid.

Lion’s Head led an engagement with investors and informal roadshow to funders, developers and strategic investors. We worked closely with management on financial analysis, modelling and pitching to investors. This culminated in a successful investment from E. Oppenheimer and Sons, an institutional investor; and a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Mitsui, the major Japanese conglomerate.

The Lion’s Head Health Team has been at the forefront of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and has supported the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to coordinate CEPI’s resource mobilisation. Our analysis was taken forward to inform the formation of COVAX, a global procurement facility designed to enhance equitable access and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Our specific activities have included:

• Developing a vaccine demand forecast model based on target population groups, tracked vaccine candidate development, and assessed manufacturing capacity. This information was used to inform CEPI's strategy for financing vaccine production and distribution. - Supported CEPI to secure resources and structure investments into manufacturing scaleup for selected vaccine candidates. As each vaccine candidate within the CEPI portfolio has differing investment requirements (e.g. COGs, building out manufacturing capacity), Lion’s Head modelled different scenarios based on the likelihood of vaccine candidate success. This included advising CEPI on the options, costs and implications of implementing an advanced market commitment to unlock investment in Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity and secure rapid global roll-out in an equitable manner.

• Provided advice and support to CEPI on engagement with a spectrum of different funders, supporting CEPI in the structuring of each transaction with investors.
• Supported CEPI on their engagement with Gavi on COVAX design and implementation. This ensured alignment with Gavi regarding respective roles and the financing mechanisms deployed by each organisation within COVAX. Lion’s Head proposed financing structure options to leverage existing instruments, such as IFFIm for Covid vaccine financing.
• Supported the UK government on their negotiations with Gavi on the design and execution of the COVAX facility. Lion’s Head have assisted the UK government both in helping to shape their expectations and requirements of the COVAX facility, and worked to support the global network of UK High Commissions and Embassies to assist countries in making informed decisions regarding COVAX participation.

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) engaged Lion’s Head to analyse markets in a select number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Lion’s Head conducted ten in-depth macroeconomic analyses of focus countries across West and East Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and Sierra Leone).  

In these countries, Lion’s Head mapped the governments’ national development priorities, attitudes and policy approaches to the private sector and examined the challenges and opportunities of overall private sector development, including deep-dive studies into infrastructure, energy, financial, corporate and agricultural sectors.  

Furthermore, LHGP analysed data on MDB and DFI activities in the focus countries providing a landscape of ongoing development sector-related activities and how MDB’s and DFI’s could support countries in overcoming private sector development challenges.

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FSD Africa has engaged Lion’s Head to conduct a detailed scoping study on the potential and use of Gender Bonds in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This will involve carrying out an analysis of the definition and structure of gender bonds, as well as assess experiences and relevant lessons from other jurisdictions and geographies and other types of social bonds. Lion’s Head aim to produce a final report that will assess the potential for gender bond issuances in SSA and propose recommendations for the development of an enabling environment for growth of a gender bond market within the region.

Lion’s Head was mandated by the Global Green Growth Initiative to develop the Government of Jordan’s ability to access finance for Climate Change and Green Growth development projects, towards which capital raised from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) could be directed. The main output was a realistic, costed and evidence-based project pipeline of climate change and green growth projects, with accompanying GCF Concept Notes and Project Preparation Facility (PPF) applications for submission to the GCF. A secondary aim was to move climate change and green growth projects centrally within central government decision-making and prioritisation.

Lion’s Head identified climate change project opportunities towards which capital raised by a new Direct Accredited Entity (DAE) could be directed. We analysed and built an initial pipeline of 40 climate projects, followed by the development of 8 detailed GCF Concept Notes and a PPF for the project deemed most strategically important in terms of impact.

KfW Development Bank, on behalf of the German government, has engaged Lion’s Head to carry out a feasibility study and full strategy and vehicle design for its Green Bond Program to conjunction with a number of programs and initiatives in South Africa in the focal area “Green Economy”. The Green Bonds Program intends to reduce the financing costs of green infrastructure projects by mobilizing capital market funding, thereby activating institutional investors. In taking on this endeavour, it aims to provide a funding platform for institutional investors, by structuring and consequently listing (well-rated) Green Bonds at the (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) JSE and to create trust among currently inactive investors. In Phase I, the program would mainly enable pension funds and life insurances to participate in the refinancing of existing renewable energy electricity projects. In Phase II the focus would be extended from a refinancing program for existing renewables projects to a financing platform for the implementation of further climate-friendly projects in different sector

Lion’s Head has supported United for Global Mental Health since 2018 across a range of different projects. Lion’s Head were initially engaged to develop a range of financing mechniams to increase funding for global mental health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries and propose a practical plan for implementation. As part of this work, Lion’s Head identified the unique financing needs of the global mental health challenge the world faces and the quantum of funding to be raised each year for global mental health to achieve this. We also assessed countries and populations that should be prioritised for scales up mental health service delivery to achieve maximum catalytic impact.  

In 2019, UGMH contracted Lion’s Head on a new phase of work to create a more sustainable mental health care system in Lebanon. Working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Lion’s Head developed an Investment Case for the scale-up of donor and domestic mental health funding and services in Lebanon. Lion's Head assessed the economic and healthcare costs of mental health and the subsequent impact on businesses. The team demonstrated a strong return on investment for mental health services and advocated for the adoption of key best practice interventions to promote positive mental well-being.

Following this, Lion’s Head conducted a similar study to quantify the expected returns of prioritised additional investment for mental health in Liberia. In a report presented to the Liberian Ministry of Health, Lion's Head set out opportunities to crowd-in additional investment and ensure financial sustainability around mental health programming.

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Lion’s Head have previously been a long-term economic advisor to the Government of Jordan. Specific work has included:  

• March-November 2016: Development of a financing facility in Jordan to support refugees displaced by the Syrian crisis. In consultation with the Government of Jordan (GoJ) explored the creation of a new non-debt instrument that would not add to the country’s debt sustainability challenge and obfuscate the clear need for ongoing grant capital. Broad dialogue with stakeholders across the international community confirmed the need for a macro-economic intervention to address Jordan’s spiralling foreign currency debt challenge, a robust investment programme into Jordan’s education sector, and a micro-economic strategy to boost private sector competitiveness and promote the competitive advantage offered by the 10-year trade agreement with the EU
• February-April 2017: Financing refugee and migrant integration in Jordan and other countries. LHGP explored the creation a new financing mechanism to address the needs of Syrian migrants. The appropriate vehicle and structure went through several iterations, focusing on developing a series of proposals to support the Jordanian government in both accommodating and integrating Syrian migrants more broadly, but also in creating a stable macroeconomic environment to underpin their capacity. The final iteration of these proposals focused on supporting the GoJ in building a pro-growth strategy, comprised of a three-pillared donor ask (which included a financing vehicle that would be applicable in other geographies facing migrant challenges) to place Jordan on a path of economic sustainability, managing the increasing financial burden of the refugee crisis in the country.
• April-July 2017: An economic growth strategy for Jordan. Despite the fiscal cuts agreed with the IMF, Jordan’s debt-to-GDP was still rising, whilst GDP per capita fell back to 2009 levels and increased debt service costs imperilled much-needed growth. LHGP recognised that Jordan should be seeking to achieve a position of fiscal self-reliance, only achievable if the GoJ made the necessary investments in its economy to lay the foundations for long term economic growth. The population growth of ~20% could be transformed into an economic dividend if there was capital to enable the new entrants to become productive. LHGP produced a growth strategy analysis and template that formed the basis for Jordan’s 2017 Economic Growth Plan (JEGP). It concluded that Jordan’s medium-term growth critically depended on a few key sectors, requiring prioritised investment led by the public sector in construction, transport, power and water. Without these, the secondary sectors of manufacturing, agriculture and mining would be constrained. LHGP provided the GoJ with the necessary insights and tools (the financial model, the growth strategy and the pitching presentations) to form the 2017 JEGP.
• September 2017-July 2019: A new debt financing facility to support growth and fiscal stability in Jordan, and a new pro-growth Permanent Capital Vehicle. Exacerbated by rising interest rates, a debt-to-GDP ratio of 95%, and economic growth undermined by regional conflict, Jordan’s debt service costs threatened to undermine their capacity to preserve economic stability. LHGP focused on two areas of innovative finance: Creating and launching a Debt Relief Facility for Jordan to facilitate increased concessional lending, and which could then be applied to other countries facing migrant challenges; and a Feasibility Study to create a Jordanian Permanent Capital Vehicle (PCV) to support pro-growth and pro-employment investment beneficial to Jordanians and refugees alike. The aim of the Debt Refinancing Facility was to enable Jordan to stabilise its debt service costs via the provision of concessional financings by leveraging existing bilateral and multilateral loans and grants more effectively, without the need for increased donor grants.

• Ongoing: London Initiative for Jordan 2019. LHGP was asked to provide an assessment of how best to support Jordan after the London Initiative 2019. We developed a debt model for the Kingdom to enable the accurate forecasting of interest costs in the country and the impact of SSIF on the economy.  We worked closely with the Conference team to develop the 4 individual pillars that culminated in the successful Jordan Conference of 2019. Lion’s Head worked as an intermediary between the Jordan Conference leads and DfID to define the key pillars and then assist with project management to ensure that each reached their necessary development points for the Conference.

Lion's Head advised the Kenyan National Housing Corporation on the structuring of a debt issuance in the local market to finance construction of more than 15,000 units of affordable housing.

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Lion’s Head led a consortium appointed by the Federal Government of Nigera via the Ministry of Agriculture to provide transaction advisory services for the concession and privatization of national silo complexes in Nigeria through a USD 200 million PPP.

Lion’s Head also worked alongside Goldman Sachs and Standard Bank to assist the Nigerian Debt Management Office in assessing market demand and structuring options for its US$ 300 million bond issued in Spring 2017 and offered to the Nigerian Diaspora in the US and Europe.

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Lion’s Head was engaged by ENH to act as transaction advisor and subsequently arranger for the refinancing of the Mozambique State Hydrocarbon Company’s development loan associated with its equity stake in the Area 1 LNG Project in northern Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin. The Project reached financial investment decision in June 2019 with a total cost of US$24 billion, with Lion’s Head working to reduce ENH’s debt service payments to restore sustainability in the project to ENH with regards to the cost of funding during the construction period of the project. LHGP is expecting to raise approximately USD 1.3bn of debt for ENH and is leading the advisory on designing the transaction structure to offer an attractive transaction to the international investor market with a view to closing in Q4 2019.

Advised on Kenya Pooled Water Fund to issue bonds in the local capital market and on-lend to water service providers, designed and modelled the SPV financials, structured credit enhancements, prepared the investment pipeline and supported the issuance process.

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To contribute to the affordable housing agenda, the Government of Kenya supported the creation of the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC), a wholesale financial institution which issues bonds in the local capital markets, and with the proceeds, extends long term loans to financial institutions secured against mortgages. It would thus provide long-term funding to primary lenders so that they can extend the tenor of their loans to end borrowers.

Lion’s Head was engaged by the World Bank to provide technical assistance to the GOK on the operationalization of the KMRC including providing advice in the areas of operations, finance, governance and institutional framework. KMRC has recently received its licence from the Central Bank of Kenya and is preparing to conduct its first set of refinancings.

Lion’s Head has been advising International Housing Solutions (IHS), which is in the process of structuring and raising two new funds: The South Africa Affordable Green Housing Development Fund (DevFund), targeting investments in South Africa, as well as the Kenya Rental Housing Fund. Both funds are seeking to address a shortage in the affordable rental housing space. DevFund will develop units, stabilize and lease up the assets, developing a track record of financial performance, and exit at a premium, leaving long-term investors with a de-risked asset. The Kenya Rental Housing Fund (KRHF) is a private Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with a similar strategy to DevFund but focused on Nairobi and other large urban centres in Kenya.  

Lion’s Head is advising IHS in structuring the vehicles and is raising capital from institutional investors globally. Given that the commercial and legal structures for both funds are well advanced, Lion’s Head’s support for IHS largely focuses on reviewing the fund structure, supporting on investor engagement and materials, and will continue until the successful close of the transaction.

Lion’s Head is the financial advisor for the Debt Management Unit (DMU) of the Angolan Ministry of Finance (MoF). In this role, we have assisted the DMU in its US$3.0 billion Eurobond issuance in 2018, one of the largest bond issuances by a Sub-Saharan African sovereign to date. The transaction was announced after almost a two-year absence from the international capital markets and required thorough preparation and targeted investor engagement. This included a number of activities, from supporting prospectus drafting and investor presentation to liaising with Joint Lead Managers, regulators, listing institution, rating agencies and legal counsel.

In our role as financial advisors, Lion’s Head has provided extensive Sovereign financial advice to the Angolan Ministry of Finance since October 2017. Our advisory services have had a particular focus on the following key aspects:

• Ratings Advisory: Lion’s Head supports Angola in liaising with ratings agencies (Moody’s, Fitch and S&P) and ensuring the credit story of the country is duly delivered to the agencies.  This includes conducting ratings analysis and modelling for Angola’s sovereign risk, preparing ratings book and briefing the Ministry of Finance in preparing for calls and in-country meetings, as well as organising and accompanying due diligence calls and meetings between government officials and ratings agencies. We have also developed an internal ratings framework for the MoF, providing a basis from which the team could analyse and conduct its own modelling for determining the country’s credit assessment and ratings outcome.
• General Debt Management: Lion’s Head supports the Angolan DMU in defining and achieving its foreign and domestic debt strategies. We have developed a comprehensive financial model of the sovereign debt dynamics, which included mapping and analysing current obligations, local and foreign.  

• Investor & Stakeholder Relations: Lion’s Head supports the Angolan DMU in their relationship management with various investors, both private (e.g. investment banks) and public (e.g. state entities, the IMF).
• Debt Issuance Management: We advised the Angolan DMU on its US$3.0bn Eurobond issuance in 2018, with a further US$500m tap, making it one of the largest bond issuances by a Sub-Saharan African sovereign to date. This included selecting Joint Lead Managers, drafting the Bond Prospectus, supporting in the Due Diligence process, preparing the investor presentation and accompanying the bond roadshow.

Most of the major pharmaceutical companies have stopped investing in developing new antibiotics due to the limited return on investment. Over the past years with increased public support smaller research and development (R&D) companies have started to fill the innovation gap. But these companies are now struggling to find private investors to carry their innovative products through the costly phase II and phase III clinical trials. This project aimed to set up a novel blended health care impact investment fund to address these challenges by providing a sustainable source of funding for entities that engage in:  

• phase II and III clinical trials for innovative antibacterial and antifungal treatments;  
• the development of missing essential diagnostics; and  

• other innovative means to prevent and treat resistant infections.  

Lion’s Head developed the concept for a diversified portfolio which aims for an acceptable annual internal rate of return. The fund was designed to be a layered fund allowing for different types of investors depending on their respective risk appetite.

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The African Development Bank engaged Lion’s Head to advise them in understanding the current state of African Financial Centres, with a focus on their challenges and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses.  

Lion’s Head produced a comprehensive report encompassing a pan-African composite index model ranking all African financial centres against key global metrics, and a questionnaire circulated to >900 stakeholders. This helped inform an in-depth examination of 6 deep dive jurisdictions, namely Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Morocco, Ghana and Kenya.  

In the study, Lion’s Head developed a comprehensive picture of the functioning, gaps and barriers as well as opportunities of African capital markets and financial centres. The deep dive analyses examined each country’s macroeconomics and financial market, rule of law and regulatory environment, physical and digital infrastructure, human capital and reputation – the key building blocks of a successful financial centre.  

The report resulted in concrete recommendations, interventions and activities how the AfDB can support financial sector and centre development across the continent and in specific jurisdictions. It also outlines areas of collaboration with other DFIs and MDBs active in this space on the continent.

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