34963 - Helios Towers Africa Ltd

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

34963

Company Name

HELIOS TOWERS AFRICA LLP

Date ESRS Disclosed

Oct 20, 2015

Country

Africa Region

Region

Africa

Last Updated Date

Jun 12, 2021

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Jun 19, 2014
Signed : Jul 9, 2014
Invested : Mar 18, 2015

Sector

Other (Including Satellite Telecommunications, Radio and Television Broadcasting, etc.)

Industry

Telecommunications and Technology

Department

TMT, Venture Capital & Funds

Project Description

The total project cost is estimated to be around US$450 million equivalent of equity capital. The proposed investment by IFC is for up to a maximum of US$35 million in the form of equity in Helios Towers Africa Limited (“HTA” or the “Company”) for IFC’s own account. In addition, the IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund (the “ALAC Fund”), managed by the IFC Asset Management Company, is considering an up to US$75 million equity investment in HTA.

HTA is a holding company with ownership interest in operating subsidiaries that acquire, build and operate telecommunications towers and leases space on such towers to mobile operators in Ghana, DRC, and Tanzania, so those towers are effectively shared towers. HTA’s new project involves expanding the Company’s number of towers, particularly in Tanzania, through the acquisition of tower portfolios from mobile network operators and building new towers to suit their requirements. It is expected that the project will see HTA increasing its tower portfolio to more than 6,000 from the
current 3000.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The review of this proposed second investment in HTA consisted of a follow-up visit by IFC staff to the Company’s facilities in March 2014 to meet with and interview management of Helios Towers Africa, and to have an updated look at operational activities. IFC staff also appraised environmental and social (“E&S”) and technical information submitted by HTA, including an Annual Monitoring Report covering operations in 2013, environmental permits, human resources policies and procedures, and procedures on site acquisition.

IFC’s investments in Helios Towers and Helios Towers Africa (IFC projects 26627 and 29627) were disclosed on March 27, 2009 and May 6, 2010. Based on review of E&S supervision reports for these projects, including the 2013 AMR, the current E&S performance of the company is considered to be Satisfactory. IFC’s appraisal considered environmental and social management plans for the Project and whether there were any gaps between these plans and IFC requirements. Through implementation of these management plans, the project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with Performance Standards objectives.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, IFCs environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards. If IFCs investment proceeds, IFC will periodically review the the project’s ongoing compliance with the Performance Standards

PS 1 – Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
PS 2 - Labor and working conditions
PS 3 - Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention
If IFC’s investment proceeds, IFC will periodically review the the project’s ongoing compliance with the Performance Standards

IFC’s appraisal considered HTA’s record of environmental and social (“E&S”) performance under IFC’s previous investments in HTA and whether any improvements were needed. As noted above, IFC found that HTA’s record of E&S performance is satisfactory, so the principle requirement under IFC’s proposed second investment in HTA will be for the Company to continue implementing its existing E&S management system with respect to its expanding operations, with the application of any improvements as needed. Through continued implementation of HTA’s E&S management system, along with the application of any improvements as needed, the project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with Performance Standard objectives.

As there are no major adverse environmental or social impacts expected to result from the proposed project, and it is possible to avoid or mitigate any limited adverse impacts that might result, the proposed investment has been classified as a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects.

PS4, PS5, PS6, PS7 and PS8 are not considered directly applicable given the nature of the project’s operations; however the E&S review process referred to below under PS 1 will be used to identify and mitigate any community, health, safety or security issue, economic or physical displacement, biodiversity impacts, impacts on Indigenous Peoples and/or cultural heritage impacts relating to HTA’s operations.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Stakeholder Engagement

HTA will continue to recognize the importance of community engagement, and to comply with IFC Performance Standards on disclosure and community engagement. The Company will continue to implement procedures developed under IFC’s first investment for prior disclosure of any HTA investment to local communities, through notices in local newspapers, consistent with IFC standards.

Broad Community Support

Environmental & Social Action Plan

**Information on IFC's Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability can be found at www.ifc.org/sustainability

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by IFC to disclose its findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding potential investments. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC's activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this ESRS is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein.
It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors' consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following ESRS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP).

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Projects

Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Description

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

Identified Applicable Performance Standards

Environmental and Social Categorization and Rationale

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

PS 1: Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts

PS 2: Labor and Working Conditions

PS 3: Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement

Local Access of Project Documentation

Broad Community Support

IFC's Determination of BCS

Environmental & Social Action Plan

Environmental & Social Action Plan

Press-Release

Related SII

Similar Projects

Information on E&S Complaints and Grievance Mechanisms

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