Meridiam stands out as an engineering-led investment firm that builds infrastructure from the ground up rather than just buying finished projects, and it bakes its social and environmental mission directly into its legal structure by tying pay for both its investment teams and portfolio companies to measurable impact goals. In Africa, it acts as a hands-on project developer with large local teams based in Dakar and Addis Ababa, focuses heavily on climate adaptation work like protecting Nouakchott's coastline, trains government workers through its Africa Infrastructure Fellowship Program, and only takes on projects it sees as truly essential and a good fit for the communities they serve.