The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News this week

Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories this week on Africa Private Equity News.

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Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories this week on Africa Private Equity News.

1. $222.5m first close for African infrastructure private equity fund

Africa50 Group, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, announced the first close of its Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (Africa50–IAF), securing $222.5 million in commitments.

Africa50-IAF secured participation from 16 African institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, social security funds, insurance companies, banks and development finance institutions, including the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Read the full article

2. Affirma Capital leads $145m deal for Zambia’s Copperbelt Energy Corporation

Affirma Capital (formerly Standard Chartered Private Equity) has led a $145 million investment into Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) in an significant single-asset continuation deal in Africa.

The private equity firm originally invested in CEC in March 2014 via a structured equity investment backing the company’s controlling shareholder. In March 2018, Affirma Capital converted its investment into a 34.64% shareholding in CEC. Read the full article

3. Amethis acquires majority stake in Capital Banking Solutions

Private equity firm Amethis, through its European strategy aimed at supporting SMEs in their internationalisation, has taken a majority stake in Capital Banking Solutions (CBS).

CBS, headquartered in Paris, France, offers banking solutions tailored to international banks in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and America. Read the full article

4. EIB Global invests in Seedstars Africa Ventures I fund

EIB Global, an arm of the European Investment Bank (EIB), has announced a $30 million equity investment in the Seedstars Africa Ventures I venture capital fund.

Seedstars Africa Ventures I was created by Maxime Bouan, Tamim El Zein and Bruce Nsereko Lule, in partnership with Seedstars, a global organisation that invests and supports entrepreneurs from emerging markets, and LBO France, a multi-country multi-specialist investment platform that seeded the initiative and provided a material anchoring commitment. Read the full article

5. Monter Capital invests in Botswana-based financial institution

Monter Capital has announced an investment in Prolude Capital, a financial institution headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

Prolude Capital is dedicated to creating wealth for small and medium enterprises and individuals through a strategic blend of financial solutions. Read the full article

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