The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News the past week
Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories the past week on Africa Private Equity News.
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Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories the past week on Africa Private Equity News.
1. Vantage Capital exits real estate development
Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest mezzanine debt fund manager, has fully exited its investment in Seaton Estates, a residential coastal development located on the North Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The promoter of Seaton is Collins Residential, the residential arm of a diversified group with interests in the real estate, hospitality, and agricultural sectors, both in South Africa and internationally.
Vantage first invested in Seaton in January 2022 by arranging R360 million (about $23 million) of mezzanine funding for development of initial phases of common use infrastructure and bulk services. After a four-year investment period, Vantage has been fully exited through a combination of sale proceeds and a senior debt refinance by FedGroup. Read the full article
2. RMB Corvest and Alito Fund 2 acquires stake in Packaging World
RMB Corvest and Alito Fund 2 have partnered to acquire a majority stake in Packaging World, a South African manufacturer of flexible plastic packaging. Founded in 1995 by Dean Gianni, Packaging World is a supplier of specialised flexible packaging solutions – including reels, bags and pouches – primarily to the FMCG food sector.
Under the transaction, RMB Corvest and Alito will partner with Gianni, who will retain a meaningful stake and continue to be operationally involved in the business. Packaging World’s key management team will also invest alongside RMB Corvest, Alito and Gianni. Read the full article
3. Mobility finance platform GoCab raises $45m
Côte d’Ivoire-based GoCab has announced a $45 million funding round – $15 million equity and $30 million debt – to scale its mobility financing platform across emerging markets. GoCab provides credit to gig-economy workers in emerging markets to buy their own car or motorbike.
The equity round was co-led by E3 Capital and Janngo Capital, with participation from KawiSafi Ventures and Cur8 Capital. In parallel, GoCab has secured more than $30 million in debt commitments from Cur8 Capital and others as part of a broader $60 million Shariah-compliant debt facility currently under structuring. Read the full article
4. Phatisa Food Fund 3 reaches first close
Phatisa Food Fund 3 (PFF 3) has reached an $86 million first close, with commitments from British International Investment, FinDev Canada, Norfund, Swedfund, the IFC, and Phatisa.
Building on the strategy and performance of its predecessor funds, PFF 3 will invest across Africa’s food value chain, targeting scalable businesses that combine strong commercial fundamentals with impact. The fund focuses on agri-inputs – including seeds, crop protection, fertiliser and agri-tech – and downstream activities such as processing, food production, cold chain, storage, logistics, food distribution and retail as well as related services. The fund will not invest in primary agriculture. Read the full article
5. Uganda: Holocene backs battery swapping network
Holocene, a South Africa-based early-stage climate tech investor, has announced an investment in Yongeza Capital. Yongeza is building the backbone of electric two-wheeler mobility in Uganda through a growing network of battery swapping stations. Riders swap depleted batteries for charged ones in seconds, keeping Uganda’s delivery and transport economy moving without the downtime of traditional charging. Read the full article
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