Kenza Fradji

Lawyer in the Project Development & Finance Team in Paris, I advise sponsors, French, EU and international lenders, development finance institutions and investment funds on complex cross-border financing transactions, with a particular focus in France and Africa.

I work on a wide range of financing and refinancing transactions, including bilateral and syndicated loans as well as bond issuances. I am involved in project finance and structured finance matters, primarily in the renewable energy, transport and infrastructure sectors. My experience includes notably solar photovoltaic and hybrid projects, onshore wind, biomass, hydropower and energy storage systems.

I assist clients throughout all stages of their transactions, from legal due diligence to the drafting and negotiation of financing documentation, the structuring and coordination of multi-jurisdictional security packages, and the management of conditions precedent up to financial close. I have developed particular expertise in drafting and coordinating French and foreign security documents in the context of complex cross-border financings.

Before joining Bird & Bird, I gained experience in the banking and finance departments of several leading Paris-based international and silver circle law firms which allowed me to develop my skills in handling complex, multi-jurisdictional financing transactions.

I hold a master's degree in international business law from Université Paris Dauphine and an LL.M. in international economic law from the European School of Law in Toulouse.

• I advised the African Development Bank on a two-year, $100 million loan to Sucden, a commodity broker and industrial sugar processor, to finance cocoa supply and value chain development through Sucden's network of cooperatives, aggregators and suppliers in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria.
• The project aims to improve sustainability, support smallholder farmers, and enhance supply chain efficiency. Through this, it will support economic growth in the region and improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers, while ensuring compliance with environmental and social safeguards.