Amethis backed company receives debt funding for West African expansion
Groupe Premium, of which Amethis Fund II is a shareholder, received a loan of €4 million under the AfricaConnect programme set up by the German government, to develop its activities in West Africa.
A family business created in 1949, Groupe Premium has established itself over the years as a key player in the distribution of capital goods in Morocco in the sectors of industry, construction, mining and quarrying, and agriculture. Premium has established partnerships with more than 50 brands, including Liebherr, Linde, Manitou, Bomag, Putzmeister, Sandvik and John Deere.
Since Amethis invested in Groupe Premium at the end of 2017, the group has grown in West Africa where it is now active in seven countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Togo and Benin.
For its development in West Africa, Groupe Premium received a loan of €4 million from funds from the AfricaConnect programme, provided by the German development finance institution DEG, also an investor in Amethis Fund II. This loan targets in particular the financing of Groupe Premium’s subsidiaries in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to support their growth in these new markets.
Wilfried Poyet, investment director at Amethis said, “We are pleased to have facilitated this partnership between Groupe Premium and AfricaConnect, strengthening the links between an African regional leader and a long-term international funder. It is very satisfying for us to receive the support of a prominent player, consolidating the growth strategy in West Africa put in place from the start of our collaboration with Groupe Premium.”
Eric Lefort, CEO of Groupe Premium added, “We thank AfricaConnect and DEG for their trust in our West African project. This partnership is also a testimony to the quality of the work carried out by all the Groupe Premium teams since several years in this region, where our employees have been able to set up a premium service for our new customers.”
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