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. Mirova acquires stake in Moroccan citrus producer
Following 2021’s closing of its fund dedicated to sustainable land use, at more than $200 million, investment manager Mirova unveiled an investment in Morocco’s Atlas Fruits Company. It will support Atlas Fruits to implement sustainable practices in the citrus production sector in Morocco, with a particular focus on water resource management.
The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN fund), managed by Mirova, will acquire a minority stake in Atlas Fruits to improve irrigation systems, set up agroforestry systems, and develop precision farming in existing orchards.
2. Criterion exits forest products company
Criterion Africa Partners, a private equity firm investing in the forestry sector in sub-Saharan Africa, has exited its investment in Compagnie des Bois du Gabon (CBG). The exit was completed through the sale of Criterion’s 49% stake in CBG to TotalEnergies.
CBG is an integrated forest products company that operates on 596,000 of concessions located between the Loango and Moukalaba Doudou national parks in Gabon.
3. Adenia Capital fund in line for investment from Canadian DFI
Canadian development finance institution FinDev Canada has disclosed a proposed investment of up to US$30 million in the Adenia Capital V fund, managed by Adenia Capital Partners.
Adenia Capital V will provide growth capital through making equity and quasi-equity investments, primarily for control positions, in medium-sized companies whose principal place of business are situated in or have substantial connections to Africa.
4. Africa50 invests in pan-African data centre company
Africa50 has completed a growth equity investment of $20 million in PAIX Data Centres, a pan-African group company, that owns and operates a growing African platform of carrier-neutral colocation data centres.
This funding forms the first tranche of PAIX’s series B financing by Africa50, which will be used to fund the company’s data centre capacity expansion and growth plans into new African data centre markets.
PAIX currently operates two data centre facilities: one in Accra, Ghana, and another in Nairobi, Kenya.
5. Harith launches pan-African renewable energy fund
Harith General Partners, an investor in African infrastructure, and Anergi Group, an African power provider, have partnered to establish the Pan-African Renewable Energy Fund (PAREF) to accelerate renewable energy adoption across Africa. “The $300 million fund will be key to bridging the energy access gap across the continent, while contributing to the just transition of energy by accelerating Africa’s move to low-carbon economies in a socially responsible manner,” read a statement by Harith.
The IEA estimates that closing the energy access gap in sub-Saharan African countries will require an estimated annual investment of $28 billion from now until 2030, including $13 billion for mini-grids, $7.5 billion for grid investments and $6.5 billion for off-grid investments.