AFRICA – Private equity firm AfricInvest has raised US$411 million in a new fund for investments in mid-sized companies in African countries.

The newly closed fund is the largest the firm has raised, eclipsing the US$300 million it raised from the previous flagship fund, AfricInvest III, which closed in 2016.

It ordinarily caps investment per region in Africa at 35 percent of a fund, meaning that East African investments could access up to US$144 million from the AfricInvest IV fund.

The new fund will target mature and profitable African mid-cap companies across diverse sectors to accelerate their regional growth.

AfricInvest said the new round of funding has come from new and returning institutional investors, development finance institutions, and family offices from around the world.

AfricInvest Fund IV is well-positioned to continue financing African companies, supporting them as they develop into local and regional champions,” Skander Oueslati, a senior partner and CIO of sub-Saharan Africa at AfricInvest said.

“Our local expertise and insight allow us to generate proprietary deals to help create  long-term strategies to deliver value for portfolio companies.”

The firm said that some of the investors in AfricInvest IV fund include BII UK (formerly CDC UK), German investment fund DEG, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Dutch development bank FMO, IFC, and French development institution Proparco.

Since its launch, AfricInvest Fund IV has already closed three transactions, in Ghana, Kenya, and Morocco.

The first investment, in mid-2020, was the acquisition of a minority stake in the commercial bank Fidelity Bank Ghana.

The second, completed in 2021, was an investment in Compagnie marocaine de goutte et de pompage, engaged in irrigation and agribusiness in Morocco.

The third, announced last April, was a co-investment with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Kenyan company AutoXpress, an importer and distributor of tires, auto parts, and accessories in East Africa.

The investment platform goes on to say that these opportunities will continue to grow over the years.

Over the past 25 years, AfricInvest claims to have raised over US$2 billion to finance almost 200 companies in 35 countries across Africa at different development stages.

In Kenya, its investee firms have included UAP Insurance Group, Family Bank Kenya, I&M Bank Rwanda, Prime Bank, Britam Holdings Group, Silafrica Plastics & Packaging International, Abacus Pharmaceuticals, and Brookhouse Schools.

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