PKA, Pension Danmark and Lægernes Pension are backing the fund, which will be administered by investment firm AP Moller Capital.

Its chief executive Robert Mærsk Uggla said: “Africa, with a working-age population likely to reach more than one billion people in the next decades, has a pressing requirement for more investments in infrastructure.”

PKA chief executive Peter Damgaard Jensen said his fund had had positive experiences of investing in Africa and wanted to invest more on the continent.

“With this new fund we will be making infrastructure investments in Africa and get the opportunity to provide a good return to the pension savers and at the same time make a positive difference in line with the UN sustainable development goals,” he said.

The fund will last for 10 years and has an initial target of 10 to 15 investments.

It will be open to additional institutional investors for the next year and hopes to raise $1bn in all.