air taxis tom zaitseV / moscow
Moscow-based air-taxi operator Dexter has received $7 million from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) for financing fleet and network expansion.
IFC is mandated to extend loans to start-up enterprises in the private sector. The funding is the first tranche of a $15 million investment structured as a quasi equity debt product. Yevgeny Andrachnikov, chairman of the management group that handles Dexter, says the remainder will be disbursed pending the financing meeting the bank's requirements.
Companies Kaskol and Industrial Investors created Dexter last year, in anticipation of mounting demand for air-taxi services throughout the country. Its business plan identifies 323 city pairs with a potential to transport 1 million passengers a year.
Andrachnikov says the two shareholders have already invested $16 million in the project. Overall spending on acquiring a fleet of 45 Myasischev M101T single-engine turboprops will total $70 million, including funding from IFC.