Leadership change at African healthcare fund
The management and ownership of Investment Funds for Healthcare in Africa (IFHA) have undergone a transition. Menka Shah and Eline Blaauboer, who were appointed as partners in 2021, are now also co-owners of the firm alongside founding partner Onno Schellekens.
Established in 2008, IFHA was among the first private equity funds dedicated to investing in healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. The company has raised over $200 million across two funds from public and private investors and has invested in 18 companies, with 10 exits so far. IFHA’s managing partner Max Coppoolse retired in 2021, and CFO and partner Pieter Zuijdgeest retired in 2020.
Shah joined IFHA in 2015 to set up the firm’s office in Kenya and oversee its investments in the healthcare service provision sector, leading to the creation of one of the largest private healthcare networks in East Africa. Before joining IFHA, Menka worked at IFC, Acumen, and Ernst & Young.
Blaauboer, who joined IFHA in 2021, is a pioneer in the field of private equity in East Africa. As the managing partner of TBL Mirror Fund, she was the founding chair of the East Africa Venture Capital Association, managed and set up Safaricom’s corporate venture fund, and oversaw some of the first investments in healthcare and mobile technology in the African region.
Onno Schellekens, a founding partner of IFHA and a co-founder and chairman of Carepay, is a globally recognised entrepreneur and thought leader in innovative healthcare financing. He has previously served as the CEO of Pharmaccess and has founded various technology companies.
IFHA’s diverse range of investors interested in supporting the development of healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa includes founding commercial investors Goldman Sachs, Heineken, Unilever, Shell, SNS, and Aegon; development finance institutions IFC, FMO, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Dutch Good Growth Fund, and Swiss Investment Bank; pension funds APG and Achmea; and strategic investors Pfizer, Gilead, and ELMA.
Over the past 15 years, IFHA’s investments across the healthcare value chain (healthcare finance, delivery, provision, technology, manufacturing) have contributed to the continued development and professionalisation of the sectors at a macro level, as well as the strategic growth of the investee companies. These investments include health insurers and HMOs (AAR insurance, Hygeia HMO); hospitals and clinics (AAR, Kampala Hospital, Nakasero Hospital, Lagoon Hospitals, C-Care); health technology companies (Carepay, Hello Doctor); and pharmaceutical and medical equipment distributors (WWCVL, Labotec, Pyramid Healthcare, Trivitron).