The total Project cost is around €20 million. IFC has proposed to provide an A Loan of up to €10 million and mobilize a parallel loan of up to €10 million from another development finance institution. A part of the total financing will be backed by a first loss guarantee from IDA-PSW.

IFC as implementing entity of the IDA PSW Blended Finance Facility (IDA PSW BFF) is expected to support IFC and the parallel lender with a first loss guarantee (“IDA PSW First Loss”). Without the support under the IDA PSW First Loss, IFC and the parallel lender will not be able to provide the financing to Cerba given the high risk inherent in IDA PSW countries, in particular in fragile and conflict-affected states. Therefore, the IDA PSW First Loss will help ensure the materialization of the following impacts in IDA-PSW countries: i) patients’ access to tests currently not available; ii) improvement in test quality; (iii) reduction in operating cost as well as cost for testing; and iv) job creation. The level of concessionality (i.e. subsidy) to be provided under the IDA PSW First Loss support is estimated to be approximately 15.1% of the total project cost of €20 million. This estimate is based on the difference between (i) a “reference price” (either a market price if available; the price calculated using IFC’s pricing model, which comprises three main elements: risk, cost and profit; or a negotiated price) and (ii) the “concessional price” being charged under the Project. Further details and historical information on estimated subsidy levels in IFC’s blended finance portfolio can be found at: www.ifc.org/blendedfinance. As is the case with all of IFC’s blended concessional finance co-investments, this project has been assessed against the Enhanced Blended Concessional Finance Principles for DFI Private Sector Operations adopted by IFC and more than 20 other DFIs in 2017. Further information on these Enhanced Principles and IFC’s blended finance approach and governance can also be found at: www.ifc.org/blendedfinance.

12.38 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	12.38
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

The most significant Project-level outcomes is patient impact: access to good quality diagnostic services is fundamental in providing improved access and coordination of care. Currently there are many shortcomings across Africa in terms of diagnostic services. There are too few laboratories and those that exist often have poor quality control, with a limited variety of tests. The Project will fill these gaps by (1) increasing the number of patients & collection points. The project plans to expand its lab network to new countries, including IDA-PSW-eligible countries. The project will also increase the number of collection points to the periphery of major cities, resulting in an estimated 0.5 million additional patients and 2.3 million additional tests; (2) introducing more accurate & faster tests: Cerba will aim to expand and strengthen CLA's systems, and introduce new technology, that will lead to additional and quicker accurate testing by CLA's pathology labs, reducing costs and the need for multiple tests, and (3) introducing a greater depth of clinical tests into the markets it enters. This will allow for diagnostics of a greater range of diseases, and these diagnostics will support a greater range of treatments. Market Impact Assessment - the Project will enable systemic changes by increasing the competitiveness of the diagnostics market in Africa. It will do this by supporting the entry and expansion of CLA into a number of under-developed markets. These markets are characterized by relatively small providers that are under-capitalized and without the systems to ensure consistently accurate tests, as well as by the absence of regulation. CLA's expansion will place pressure on other laboratories to "up their game" and will demonstrate the value of its business model and so could lead to replication by other companies. COVID-19 - African countries have fragile health systems & to fight the pandemic, public authorities will need to engage the private sector. CLA is the largest pan-African lab in terms countries covered and is uniquely placed to join national COVID-19 response plans. Its labs will be amongst the few labs able to conduct COVID-19 testing.

IFC's additionality in this project comes in 3 forms: financing structure, resource mobilization, and mitigating non-commercial risk for the sector in the region. Financing Structure: IFC is providing a tenor of up to [9] years to a pan-African operation which would not be commercially available. Non-commercial Risk Mitigation: (a) IFC is helping mitigate the multiple-country and regulatory risk associated with a pan-African platform; and (b) Cerba values IFC's health sector knowledge, network, and expertise, and looks forward to introductions to IFC's hospital clientele that could become clients of CLA.

This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Based on information reviewed by IFC, this investment will have limited adverse E&S risks and impacts that are few in number and site-specific, with limited renovation or construction impacts; mainly being short term and not significant. Operational impacts are expected to be generally site specific and can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to recognized performance standards, procedures, guidelines and design criteria as described in the following sections.

Key E&S risks and impacts associated with the project include; the company’s capacity and systems to assess and manage E&S risks and issues associated with its operations and during development and acquisitions of the new laboratories; provision of fair and safe working conditions for employees and contractors; occupational health and safety (OHS) policies and practices including infection control; resource efficiency measures; medical waste and wastewater management; life and fire safety and the company’s stakeholder engagement activities. 

Please refer to the related Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) document for this project.

Please refer to the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) tab in the related Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) document for this project.