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. Sanlam Private Equity buys controlling stake in Q LINK
Sanlam Private Equity (SPE) announced that it had acquired a controlling interest in payment solutions provider Q LINK. Q LINK provides payment application software that manages deductions in both the payroll and bank collection streams. The Emolument Attachment Order solution has saved South African public sector employees more than ZAR300 million (c. $19.3 million) in invalid and over-deductions from court orders since 2014.
SPE made the acquisition through its new third-party private equity fund, SPE Mid-Market Fund, one of three impact-focused funds in the Sanlam Investor Legacy Range launched in 2020. The Q LINK acquisition follows that of Cavalier Group and Absolute Pets from the fund.
SPE agreed to acquire the shares from Apis Partners, a UK based private equity fund; Multiply Group, a local private investment firm; and other minority shareholders.
2. Adiwale Fund I backs education company
Adiwale Partners announced a minority investment in Enko Education by Adiwale Fund I. The fund led a $5.8 million series B round gathering new and existing institutional investors and family offices. Investors include prominent figures in international education and entrepreneurship in Africa.
Enko Education started operations in 2014. It offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) at a fraction of what other IB schools on the continent are charging. The group has 3,500 students and operates 13 schools in nine African countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia). With this new fundraising, the group is well positioned to reach 10,000 students in 2025. Future growth will be driven by acquisitions and management contracts.
3. Spark+ fund invests $4m in cooking stove manufacturer
Enabling Qapital (EQ) and Stichting Modern Cooking (SMC) announced the initial investment of the Spark+ Africa Fund. Spark+ Africa Fund, developed with support from the Clean Cooking Alliance, is an impact fund investing in access to clean and modern energy solutions for cooking in frontier markets in Africa.
Spark+, which had its first closing in March, has invested $4 million via a long-term quasi-equity instrument in BURN Manufacturing, a Kenyan manufacturing company that specialises in the design and manufacture of biomass, electric, and LPG cookstoves that save consumers time and money, improve health, reduce harmful pollution, and limit the use of wood and charcoal.
4. Investment platform Untapped Global raises $10.3m pre-seed funding
Untapped Global announced the launch of its public beta platform, which uses real-time data to provide transparency for investors looking to tap into Africa and emerging markets. Funded by a $10.3 million debt and equity pre-seed round that closed in March, this data-driven investment model – smart asset financing – finances revenue-generating assets for entrepreneurs and SMEs in emerging markets. Using IoT from real world assets, the model assesses the risk of investments and delivers insights to investors on investment performance to secure lucrative returns.
Untapped Global has financed assets for over 6,000 entrepreneurs across a dozen countries in Africa and Latin America, who work across sectors such as clean water, solar, e-mobility, and inclusive fintech. The company has an annual revenue run rate of $2.5 million with a consistent profitable return on capital and was acknowledged by Fast Company as one of 2022’s Most World Changing Ideas.
5. South Africa: African Infrastructure Investment Managers in solar plants deal
African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has acquired – through its IDEAS Managed Fund (IDEAS) – majority stakes in three new solar power plants in South Africa.
The 30MW portfolio of facilities, which reached financial close in May 2022, are expected to reach commercial operation in March and April 2023. They will connect via a combination of wheeling and behind the meter solutions, feeding energy into mining company Harmony’s operations in the Welkom area in South Africa.
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