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.
1. Convergence Partners fund lands investment from European LP
Dutch development bank FMO has signed a $30 million investment in Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund, managed by private equity firm Convergence Partners.
Convergence Partners was founded in 2006 and invests as value-adding partners into private equity opportunities in technology and digital infrastructure sectors across sub-Saharan Africa. It has an asset base in excess of $400 million across Southern, East and West Africa through three funds.
The fund aims to make growth-capital investments in a diversified portfolio of mid-sized sub-Saharan companies seeking growth, or brownfield / greenfield investments in the digital infrastructure space.
2. IFC considering investment in Nigeria-based seed fund
The IFC is considering an investment of up to $3 million in Microtraction Fund II through its Startup Catalyst Program. Microtraction Fund II is a $15 million seed stage fund focused on pre-seed and seed stage investments in tech and tech-enabled businesses in sub-Saharan Africa.
The general partner is MI Holdings Limited, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
IFC has proposed an equity investment of up to $1.5 million through the Startup Catalyst Program and $1.5 million through the Blended Finance Facility (BFF) of the IDA18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window (IDA PSW). IFC’s commitment is not to exceed 20% of total commitments.
The fund is based in Nigeria and will be making investments across high growth markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
3. 4DX Ventures closes $60m second fund
4DX Ventures, an African early-stage venture firm, announced it has completed the final close of its second fund which launched in Q1 2021, at an amount of $60 million compared to its original target of $50 million. In addition to the final close of its second fund, the firm has added two experienced general partners, and Dikembe Mutombo as a senior advisor.
4DX Ventures was founded by Walter Baddoo and Peter Orth in 2017 to invest in the best founders building great companies that would usher in Africa’s technology revolution. Investing in Africa and beyond, 4DX is focused on pre-seed to series B opportunities across a variety of sectors and business models.
4. Nigeria: Solar company raises funding from All On and Katapult
NXT Grid, a one-stop-shop for solar mini-grids, has raised $1.4 million from investors All On and Katapult Climate.
NXT Grid’s integrated platform makes it easy and affordable to install and operate a solar mini-grid. The company couples AI-based software with rented solar equipment, to enable business customers to run their own town-sized utility. The upfront costs are reduced by 80% and make mini-grids a financially and environmentally sustainable alternative to generators.
5. Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund announces first close
Cairo Angels, one of the Middle East and Africa’s leading network of business angels, has announced the first close of the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund (CASF), a Delaware based angel fund.
CASF will be investing ticket sizes of $100,000 – $250,000 on average across the Middle East and Africa with a particular focus on Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Apart from the investments made by the fund, the fund negotiates additional co-investment rights for its LPs on a deal by deal basis, allowing the fund’s investors to double down on opportunities.
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