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. XSML reaches hard cap for African Rivers Fund III
XSML, the fund manager active in Central and East Africa, announced it had reached the hard cap for its African Rivers Fund III (ARF III) at $85 million. ARF III is XSML’s third fund under management, after its maiden fund the Central Africa SME Fund (CASF) and its second fund, African Rivers Fund (ARF), bringing total assets under management to $159 million.
ARF III targets growing, well-managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Central African region covering Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and the Republic of Congo and surrounding countries. The fund is named after the two most powerful rivers in Africa, the Congo and Nile Rivers, which embody the potential of the Central and East African region.
2. Kenya: Microsoft climate fund invests in KOKO
KOKO Networks announced that the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund has concluded an equity investment in conjunction with a group of venture capital and family office investors.
KOKO operates a proprietary climate-tech platform for the low-cost delivery of bioethanol cooking fuel, to replace dirty cooking fuels such as deforestation-based charcoal which dominates the $47 billion market for African cooking fuel. The platform has been proven at scale in Kenya, with over 415,000 household subscribers joining since commercial launch in late 2019, including over 500% growth in the last 12 months.
3. Standard Bank partners with Tana Africa Capital
Standard Bank Group announced its funding into Tana Africa Capital II, an investment company which aims to build African companies through growth capital, operational and strategic support. Tana Africa Capital has a portfolio spanning the education, agribusiness, FMCG, retail and healthcare sectors with operations in more than 20 countries across north and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Standard Bank Group has entered into a funding agreement with Tana Africa Capital to provide a $22.5 million fund term loan, in support of their growth ambitions in Africa.
4. AfDB invests in Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund
The board of directors of the African Development Bank has approved an equity investment of €9.8 million to support venture capital investments in African start-ups, from seed to growth stages.
Of the equity investment, €7 million will be sourced from the African Development Bank’s own resources; the additional €2.8 million represents funds provided by the European Union (EU) through a partnership with the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
The investment will help the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund meet its target of securing €110 million to invest in over 20 early-stage ventures across sub-Saharan Africa. The Innovation Fund focuses on financial inclusion (financial tech and insurance tech), retail and logistics platforms targeting online and mobile consumers, healthcare technologies, and pay as you go, off-grid energy technologies.
5. FMO considers investment in Partech Africa Fund II
The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, FMO, is proposing an investment of €25 million in the Partech Africa Fund II. The fund is managed by Partech, a global venture platform.
Partech Africa Fund II intends to focus on early-stage funding, providing €1 million to €15 million initial tickets to talented African teams that are using tech to address large emerging market opportunities. Partech Africa Fund II is a generalist tech fund with target industries ranging from fintech to online and mobile consumer services, as well as mobility, supply chain services and digitisation of the informal economy.
In 2017, Partech launched its Africa-focused strategy and closed its first Partech Africa Fund.
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