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. Amethis and partners exit Kenyan supermarket chain
Amethis – alongside its partners: DEG, MCB Private Equity and IFC – have reached an agreement to sell their stake in Naivas International (Mauritius), which owns 100% of the shares of Naivas Limited, a leading supermarket chain in Kenya. The deal which sees the Mukuha family continue holding majority control, welcomes IBL Group, a Mauritius conglomerate as the lead investor of a consortium of new equity partners.
IBL Group’s partners in the consortium are Proparco and DEG. This marks IBL Group’s first investment as part of its expansion strategy in East Africa. The agreement is still subject to regulatory approvals.
Naivas was Amethis Fund II’s fourth investment and now first exit. In the course of the investment period, Naivas has been able to consolidate its position and expand with its total number outlets growing from around 60 to more than 84 stores today, in the process adding five new cities to its footprint in Kenya.
2. FirstCheck Africa adds $2m commitment from TLcom to its $10m debut fund
TLcom Capital, a prominent Africa-focused seed to series B venture capital firm, has committed $2 million to FirstCheck Africa. Eloho Omame, one of FirstCheck Africa’s founders, has also joined TLcom Capital as a partner, adding to her existing day-to-day role as co-managing partner at FirstCheck Africa.
This move allows FirstCheck Africa to support more female-led startups by giving it access to additional capital. Including its $10 million debut fund, FirstCheck Africa will be investing $12 million as a single pool of capital against its strategy of backing high-growth, technology-driven startups with at least one female founder or co-founder.
3. Zimbabwe: Spear Capital invests in food manufacturing company
International private equity firm Spear Capital has completed its investment into the food manufacturing business Associated Foods Zimbabwe Private Limited (AFZ). AFZ plays a key role in value addition to agricultural goods from local farmers and currently produces a range of popular food items such as jams, peanut butter, snacks, cereals and canned products for the Zimbabwean market.
Spear Capital’s investment into the business will be a part buy-out of existing shareholders, part working capital injection and part capital expenditure as well as investment into systems and equipment to improve the manufacturer’s environmental impact.
4. Proparco completes pre-series-A investment in Kenyan tech school Moringa
Building on the seed investment by DOB Equity and $9.5 million funding by Mastercard Foundation, Moringa recently received an investment from Proparco to support its expansion outside Kenya. This has seen the tech-based learning institution start to train software engineers in Ghana and soon Nigeria with a plan to scale to other African countries in the next 12 months. Moringa, a career accelerator for tech professionals in Africa, has been training high school/university graduates to be software engineers and data scientists for the past seven years in Kenya and achieved market leadership training over 4,000 students with an employment rate of over 85%.
The investment comes at an exciting time with Moringa just agreeing to a curriculum licensing deal with the world’s leading coding boot camp, Flatiron School, and achieving ISO 9001:2015 certification. The stage is set for Moringa to play a significant role in developing African tech talent and connecting it to purposeful and significant earning opportunities whether full-time jobs, the gig economy, or becoming entrepreneurs.
5. RMB Corvest acquires significant share in South African drinks company
RMB Corvest teamed up with Chris Seabrooke, Mike Teke and RMB Family Office Group Solutions (through its investment entity Masimong Beverages Holdings), as well as management to acquire Halewood International SA, a well-established South African drinks manufacturer.
Halewood was established in 1999 and has since become a fixture in the South Africa’s spirits industry. The business currently manufacturers, imports and distributes a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including mixed drinks like Red Square Vodka and spirits including Belgravia Gin. The manufacturing operations are supported by three depots (Durban, Cape Town and Ladysmith) with an additional eight outsourced depots across the country, enabling national distribution. The challenges around liquor bans and supply chains have been mitigated, and with Halewood’s significant reach in the sector, the business has steadily been building its capacity.