NIGERIA – CDC, the UK’s development finance institution has committed a US$15 million investment to CardinalStone Capital Advisors Growth Funds (CCA).

CCA is a Nigerian fund group that targets Small and Medium Enterprises across major segments in agriculture, industrials, Fast moving consumer goods, healthcare, financial services and education.

Clarisa de Franco, CDC’s Managing Director said that the funding will help boost the financial access to SME’s within the segments.

“As a pioneering investor in African private equity we are delighted to be supporting CardinalStone’s first fund that will bring investment and expertise to the local entrepreneurs.

High growth SMEs that are vital to Nigeria’s long-term economic growth and job creation. We have worked with CardinalStone from the beginning, helping them build a team and raise other investment,” he said

The two have in the past has partnered in towards facilitating funding in the sector which has strengthened CDC involvement in propelling economic growth in West Africa through its investments.

CDC is an anchor investor alongside Kuramo, a leading African investment firm, which facilitated the mobilisation of an additional investment of US$15 million from the Dutch development bank FMO and Nigerian sovereign wealth fund (NSIA).

CCA has however, unveiled plans to raise up to US$100 million in total commitments by the close of the fund, reports Digest Africa.

Prior to the Fund, CCA made investments as the principal investment division of CardinalStone Partners and spun off into an independent fund manager in 2016 – led by Yomi Jemibewon and Femi Ogunjimi. 

This comes after CDC recently revealed plans of investing to the tune of US$4.5 billion across Africa within the next four years.

In November 2018, CDC announced a US$25 million investment in Nigerian-led, Synergy Private Equity Fund II which invests in high-growth SME businesses in Nigeria and its West African neighbours.

CDC invested in Nigeria’s first private equity fund, the Capital Alliance Private Equity Fund I from African Capital Alliance and has since then invested in all five of its subsequent funds.

The investment arm, which has marked its investments in the country for about 70 years, has offered investment significant support to the private equity sector in Nigeria.