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. Kenya: Africa50 and Novastar Ventures back Poa Internet
Poa Internet and Africa50 announced the completion of Africa50’s equity investment into Poa. This funding is part of the $28 million financing round led by Africa50, which will be used to support the company’s future growth plans across Kenya, as well as launch the business into further African markets.
Also participating in the first closing is Novastar Ventures, which is making its third investment into the company, and a number of other existing shareholders. Since starting operations in 2016, Poa has continuously improved its operations and market position and currently has over 12,000 home internet customers, as well as tens of thousands of street Wi-Fi customers.
2. BluePeak partners with Ethos to invest in African real estate company
BluePeak Private Capital – an alternative asset management firm with a strong focus on Africa – announced its investment in Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited, a pan–African real estate company. The investment operationalises Grit’s development plan to boost industrial and health facilities in East Africa.
London Stock Exchange-listed Grit invests in and actively manages a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets across the continent. Founded in 2014 by Bronwyn Knight, Grit’s portfolio comprises 54 investments across more than eight countries and five asset classes.
BluePeak partnered with Ethos Mezzanine Partners, to jointly invest $31.5 million in Grit in a transaction led by Ethos Mezzanine Partners. The transaction marks the inaugural investment from the BluePeak Private Capital Fund SCSp, an impact-linked private credit and mezzanine finance facility raised during the Covid19 pandemic. BluePeak designs innovative financing solutions to scale mid-sized African businesses.
3. Adiwale Fund I acquires a minority stake in drilling company
Adiwale Fund I, managed by Adiwale Partners, announced the acquisition of a minority stake in International Drilling Company (IDC).
IDC is a drilling services company which started operations 10 years ago in Senegal and today also operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Guinea, with further expansion plans in French-speaking West Africa.
4. DEG backs Convergence’s third fund
German development finance institution DEG has signed an investment of up to $20 million in Convergence Partners Digital Infrastracture Fund L.P. (CPDIF), the third fund raised and managed by Convergence Partners. The first closing of the fund was achieved in July 2021.
The fund’s investment objective is to generate long term capital appreciation through investment in equity, quasi-equity and equity-related investments of between $10 million to $30 million.
The fund is expected to raise a total of $250 million.
5. Ghana: AgDevCO sells stake in agriculture business
AgDevCo, a specialist investor in African agriculture, announced that Oba Pack Company Limited, a Ghanaian-owned agribusiness, purchased the Babator Farming Company Limited (BFC) on 31 December 2021. Prior to the sale, AgDevCo Limited was the sole owner of BFC.
BFC is a 356-hectare irrigated commercial farm developed by AgDevCo from greenfield. The project was a proof of concept to attract investors to the Babator Irrigated Farming Hub (BIFH), an agricultural concession on the Black Volta River in the Savannah region of northern Ghana, which could become the country’s largest irrigated farming and processing site once fully developed.
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