Sub-Sahara Africa’s most experienced private equity firm, Actis,  Tuesday confirmed the final close of its second African real estate fundraiser, Actis Africa Real Estate 2, with a total commitment of $278 million.

The fund will be deployed for investments in retail and office developments in East, West and Southern Africa, excluding South Africa.

Paul Fletcher, Senior Partner at Actis said: “The success of this fundraising against the backdrop of a highly competitive market demonstrates the confidence our investors rightly feel in both our real estate team, and the potential of Africa.”

According to David Morley, Head of Real Estate at Actis, investor confidence in sub-Saharan Africa has escalated catalysed by the sheer strength of its 800 million population, its high rate of urbanization and encouraging government support.

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, had been reported to have invested $124 million in a sub-Sahara Nigeria-based real estate firm, Persianas Group, for the development of additional commercial real estate in the region.

Persianas are the developers of the Palms Shopping Mall in Lagos in which Actis also partly developed.

Actis’s ten person real estate team has already established a visible portfolio for the second African real estate fund with developments in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia; these include Ghana’s first green office building One Airport Square in Accra, and East Africa’s largest retail centre, Garden City in Nairobi.

Actis is private equity real estate firm investing exclusively in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since 2006, Actis has developed ten institutional quality assets in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Ikeja City Mall and The Palms in Lagos, and Accra Mall in Accra.