New €100m fund to invest in Africa’s creative industries
Ghanaian businesswoman and entrepreneur Roberta Annan earlier this week launched a €100 million fund to channel investment into small and medium African creative and fashion enterprises. The Impact Fund For African Creatives (IFFAC), will award grants of up to €50,000 to selected projects to accelerate development of the continent’s creative sector.
The fund was launched at a ceremony held on Monday 4 October, 2021, during Paris Fashion week, and was attended by fashion industry experts. Chinelo Anohu, senior director of the Africa Investment Forum also attended. The African Investment Forum, a flagship initiative of the African Development Bank, aims to channel investment into Africa.
Annan, who also founded the African Fashion Foundation, said that, in addition to grants, IFFAC will make a further €250,000-€2 million in venture capital available to African entrepreneurs who complete its skills-building programme. “I have encountered so much incredible talent all over the continent, such originality and innovation,” said Annan. “But I have also noticed a lack of management skills, infrastructure, and start-up capital necessary to scale these creative businesses. This is the motivation behind IFFAC.”
Anohu said the Africa Investment Forum has been in talks with IFFAC as it curates projects that will feature at its upcoming AIF 2021 Market Days to be held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from December 1-3.
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