Interview, Webinar
19 May 2026
lill Global Symposium: Chris Mitman, Acre Impact Capital
On the sidelines of the lill Global Symposium in Oxford this month, TXF spoke with Chris Mitman, a partner at Acre Capital to find out how deployment is going for its Export Finance Fund 1, which threads impact dollars into export finance deals.
Key takeaways from the interview:
- Acre Impact Capital’s Export Finance Fund 1 is an impact fund investing in the 15% + tranches of export finance transactions not eligible for ECA support, with an initial focus on Africa.
- The fund complements commercial banks rather than competes with them, aiming to slot into existing structures by using bank-style tenors and pricing without distorting the market.
- The fund threads impact dollars into export finance as it garners interest from DFIs, impact investors, and other institutional investors, including African-domiciled investors. By acting as an easier access point to development finance and institutional money, the fund helps banks use new sources of capital on deals that would otherwise be too challenging to access directly.
- Impact measurement is central. The fund can articulate the development impact of each investment, helping banks and ECAs strengthen the impact case for export finance. Each dollar invested by the fund will aim to unlock up to $5.60 in capital mobilisation.
- The wider aim is market-building. Acre Impact Capital is on a mission to ensure export finance becomes better understood by institutional and impact investors, especially as a tool for infrastructure delivery in Africa. The fund’s impact themes are all climate-aligned, ranging across renewable power; health, food and water scarcity; sustainable cities; and green transportation.
