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The Qatar-backed hospitality investor Kasada has signed a partnership agreement with the Gabon sovereign wealth fund, Fonds Gabonais d'Investissements Stratégiques (FGIS) to develop hotels in Gabon.

Under the agreement signed on 2 August, Kasada will work with FGIS and its subsidiaries Façade Maritime du Champ Triomphal and Luxury Green Resorts to identify, evaluate, structure and manage hotel projects in Gabon, from construction to completion.

One of the first projects to be analysed as part of the collaboration is a luxury hotel complex at the Baie des Rois special investment zone on Libreville's waterfront.

Olivier Granet, managing partner, Kasada Capital Management, commented: "The Baie des Rois is an ambitious and exciting project. It demonstrates once again our expertise and our role as preferred partner for sovereign entities to carry out complex projects. Our ability to analyse projects of this scale and our agility in terms of financial structuring, enable us to find the right solution for this flagship project in Gabon.” 

The investment opportunity on the Baie des Rois website says the new hotel complex will comprise four and five-star hotels, apartment hotel blocks, a conference centre, a casino and retail areas.

Kasada currently has a portfolio of 18 hotels in eight African markets. The firm was launched with the backing of Qatar Investment Authority. It targets both greenfield and brownfield investments and its hotels are operated under the Accor brand.

In 2019, Kasada held a close of its maiden fund, Kasada Hospitality Fund, attracting equity commitments of more than US$500 million. The fund is used to make equity investments in the redevelopment and construction of hotels in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In July, the IFC, France’s Proparco and The World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) invested US$49.5 million in the Kasada Hospitality Fund to support the refurbishment and expansion of the former Crowne Plaza in Nairobi’s Upper Hill district in Kenya.

The financing is part of a broader partnership announced in July 2021 between the Kasada Hospitality Fund and the IFC, with the latter committing to invest up to US$160 million in the fund. At the same time, MIGA agreed to cover the fund’s equity investments in the redevelopment and construction of hotels in Sub-Saharan Africa. The guarantees provide coverage against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance for up to 15 years.

Photo: The Baie des Rois (Source: FMCT-Gabon)