January Industry News

10 Jan 2023

Catalyst Fund invests into 10 startups

Catalyst Fund has announced a $2m investment into 10 startups building solutions to improve the resilience of climate-vulnerable communities in Africa.

Source: Africa Global Funds

 

EAIF provides €25m finance facility to IHE

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) has announced a €25m finance facility to Ivoire Hydro Energy (IHE), which will build a 44MW hydro electricity generation plant on the Bandama River near the village of Singrobo in Côte d’Ivoire.

Source: Africa Global Funds

 

Vantage exits Pétro Ivoire

Vantage Capital has announced that in December 2022 it fully exited its investment in Pétro Ivoire, the most established locally-owned distributor of petroleum and gas products in Côte d’Ivoire.

Source: Africa Global Funds

 

Tofino Capital invests in Egyptian healthtech company

Tofino Capital, an early stage investor in frontier market technology companies, announced its investment in Nice Deer, an Egyptian health techstartup that is revolutionising how health clinics manage patient outcomes and payment systems.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Standard Bank: $80m of financing will supply healthcare equipment across Africa

Standard Bank and GE Healthcare have announced a collaboration aimed at bringing greater accessibility to African healthcare systems. The two longtime collaborators will make financing of up to US$80 million available for the distribution of GE Healthcare equipment over the next five years.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Anchorage Capital to acquire David Jones from Woolworths

Anchorage Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Australia, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the operating business of David Jones, an Australian omnichannel department store owner, from South African retailer Woolworths Holdings Limited.

Source:  Africa Private Equity News

 

BlueOrchard appoints head of private equity

Martin Diaz Plata has been appointed as head of private equity investments at BlueOrchard, an impact investment manager.
With 25 years of experience in emerging markets private equity, Diaz Plata was previously managing partner at Capital Group Private Markets in London and spent seven years at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners in New York and Buenos Aires.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

BPE Partners sells stake in Total Energies Marketing Egypt

BPE Partners' investment vehicle, B Investments, has signed agreements to sell its entire 6.38% stake in Total Energies Marketing Egypt to Total Energies Marketing Afrique (TEMA) for $27.6 million. B Investments is also eligible for an additional $2.2 million subject to certain milestones concerning TEMA's transaction with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution.

Source:Africa Private Equity News

 

€19m investment to power villages in Madagascar

The European Investment Bank (ElB), Triodos Investment Management and EDFI ElectriFI have announced a €19million collective investment to support WeLight Madagascar's €28 million project to develop solar mini-grids for over 120 villages in Madagascar.

 Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Ethiopian tech talent marketplace lands investment from Japanese VC

Gebeya Inc., the SaaS-enabled, pan-African marketplace, today announced a new investment from Inclusion Japan (ICJ). The Tokyo-based firm provides VC funding for startups. The new investment aims to drive growth and innovation for Gebeya's continuous expansion.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Egypt-based Suplyd secures $1.6m in pre-seed funding

Suplyd, an Egypt-based start-up that digitises supply chain operations for the Middle East and North Africa region's hotels, restaurants, and catering (HORECA) industries, has announced the completion of a $1.6 million pre-seed funding round.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Kenya: Fintech company Kwara raises additional seed funding

Kenyan fintech company Kwara has raised a $3 million seed extension round and signed an agreement to acquire IRNET, a software provider owned by the national body of credit unions in Kenya, KUSCCO.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Ethiopian tech talent marketplace lands investment from Japanese VC

Gebeya Inc., the SaaS-enabled, pan-African marketplace, today announced a new investment from Inclusion Japan (ICJ). The Tokyo-based firm provides VC funding for startups. The new investment aims to drive growth and innovation for Gebeya's continuous expansion.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

SALIC completes acquisition of stake in Olam Agri Holdings

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, confirmed that it has completed the acquisition of a 35.43% stake in Olam Agri Holdings for SAR 4.65 billion (about $1.2 billion).

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Catalyst Fund announces $2m investment into 10 startups

Pre-seed venture capital (VC) fund and accelerator Catalyst Fund announced a $2 million investment into 10 startups building solutions to improve the resilience of climate-vulnerable communities in Africa. This is the inaugural cohort of the new $30 million VC fund of Catalyst Fund, anchored by financial sector development agency FSD Africa, aimed at supporting early-stage founders to develop technology that will make Africa more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Source: Adrica Private Equity

 

FEI helps AktivCo bring clean energy to telecoms with €28.3m debt package

The Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEl), a fund managed by Lion's Head Group, has arranged an additional €28.3 million in debt for AktivCo, an energy services company owned by Camusat.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

South Africa: Future growth property fund acquires another shopping centre

The Futuregrowth Community Property Fund (Comprop) has acquired KG Mall, which brings the Comprop portfolio to 23 shopping centres, with a total gross lettable area of more than 392,000mz valued in excess of R6.6 billion (c. $378.2 million).

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Burkina Faso: Agroserv secures funding for expansion and diversification

Social impact investor Oikocredit and impact investing group Investisseurs & Partenaires (IQP), along with BIO Invest and EDFI AgriFI, have announced an investment of €12.2 million in Agroserv. Oikocredit and IQP will jointly invest up to €6.2 million in Agroserv's equity, while BIO and EDFI AgriFi will lend a further €6 million to the company. Sinergi Capital realised a successful exit after investing in 2017.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Nigeria: Follow on investment in hibiscus exporter AgroEknor

Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories this week on Africa Private Equity News.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

ITL: Mauritius to sign DTAA with Republic of Angola

Mauritius is set to sign a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the Republic of Angola. This DTAA which is currently awaiting ratification will aim to inter alia:
a) provide tax certainty to investors of the two countries in their dealings with Mauritius or Angola, as the case may be;

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Egypt: OneOrder closes $3mseed round, led by Nclude

OneOrder, the fintech-powered restaurant supply chain platform that serves restaurants, cafes and hotels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has raised $3 million in a seed funding round led by Nclude and featuring participation from Delivery Hero Ventures and A15.

Source: Africa Private Equity News 

 

Nigeria: Releaf raises $3.3m to boost profitability for consumer goods makers

Releaf, a technology company that makes it easier for consumer goods manufacturers in Africa to access high-quality ingredients for their factories, has raised $3.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-series A funding round. The new funding will support the launch of two new technologies: Kraken Il, a portable version of its palm nut de-sheller, and SITE, a geospatial mapping application that informs the most profitable positioning of food processing assets.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Apis Growth Fund I fully exits position in Sun King

Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, has fully exited its remaining position in off-grid solar energy company Sun King, formerly Greenlight Planet. This follows the announcement on 27 April 2022, in which the fund divested a partial stake in the company.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt and B Investments to co-invest in healthcare sector

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and BE Partners flagship investment vehicle, B Investments Holding, have announced agreements to invest over EGP2 billion (about $66.8 million) in specialised healthcare and pharmaceutical distribution and trade services in Egypt.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Apis Growth Fund Il in micro-lending deal

Apis Growth Fund Il, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP, has made an investment in Ezra, a micro-lending fintech which provides "easy and rapid" credit solutions across Africa and emerging markets.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

African tech ecosystem raises $6.5bn in 2022

The African tech ecosystem has grown by 8% in terms of venture capital funding in 2022, according to Partech Africa's annual Africa Tech Venture Capital report. Despite a global decline in venture capital funding, debt funding in Africa doubled to $1.5 billion, accounting for nearly a quarter of total funding. Fintech remained the leading sector, with Nigeria retaining the top spot for investment destinations.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

IFC proposes $14m investment in tourism fund

The IFC has disclosed a proposed investment of up to $14 million in the senior tranche of the Africa Conservation & Communities Tourism (ACCT) fund. The fund was established in 2021 as a structured debt vehicle providing loans to ecotourism businesses (safari operators, camps, lodges, hotels, etc.) in conservation areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Futuregrowth leads investment in South African proptech company

Flow Living, a South African proptech company, has raised $4.5 million in a pre-series A funding round. The round was led by Futuregrowth Asset Management with an investment of $2 million, and included participation from Endeavour Harvest Fund and entrepreneur/investor Steven Heilbron. Existing investors Kalon Venture Partners, Vunani Fintech Fund and Buffet Investments also increased their investment in the company.

Source: Africa Private Equity News

 

Côte d'lvoire: New hospitality investment fund launched

Ivorian group Porteo S.A and French group Centaurus have announced the creation of Dalia Hospitality, an investment fund that seeks to develop projects in the hotel and tourism sector in Africa and Europe.

Source: Africa Private Equity News