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. STOA leads investment in renewable energy company
French infrastructure-focused equity investor STOA and Candi Solar, a clean energy company providing solar power to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, have announced the closing of Candi’s series B fundraising. STOA’s investment will allow Candi to finance new solar projects in India and Africa, particularly South Africa, with the aim to reach 800 MWp of solar capacity installed by 2028.
In this financing round, STOA has been joined by the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund and most existing shareholders, notably the renewable energy specialist Gaia Impact Fund.
2. British International Investment backs Egyptian VC firms
At a business reception launching its new name in Egypt, British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, announced its plan to invest $100 million in local start-ups over its current strategy period.
As part of BII’s ambition to bolster Egyptian venture capital (VC), the DFI announced new commitments to Algebra Ventures and Endure Capital, two local VC firms. The capital will support Algebra Ventures’ second fund following the success of Fund I, which included market-leading companies such as Khazna, Mozare3 and Shift EV. BII also anchors Endure Capital’s most recent fund Endure21, which has backed high-impact companies such as Brimore, Pylon and Cassbana.
The DFI has also invested in MaxAB, a prominent B2B e-commerce platform in North Africa. The funding will support the creation of 4,000 jobs and facilitate MaxAB’s expansion across Egypt and Morocco, enabling the company to reach an additional 73,000 micro-retailers across the region. In addition, the investment will help address supply-chain inefficiencies by implementing financial solutions that increase access to finance and facilitate payments for small-scale and low-income retailers.
3. South Africa: Sanari Capital announces first close for its new fund
Sanari Capital has announced a R475 million (c. $28 million) first close of its Sanari 3S Growth Fund (Sanari 3SG). The private equity firm focuses on investments in growth companies emanating from Africa (mainly from South Africa) with regional and global scalability and exposure.
Sanari 3SG will invest in established and growing companies in industries that benefit from Sanari’s thematic focus areas and capitalise on its specialisation of investing in founder-run, owner-managed and family-owned businesses. Named for Sanari’s proprietary framework for building businesses that are sustainable, scalable and saleable (3S), the fund is the manager’s second but the first targeting institutional investors.
4. Ascent announces final close of Ascent Rift Valley Fund II
Private equity fund manager Ascent announced the final close of its Ascent Rift Valley Fund II (ARVF II) at more than $128 million, exceeding its initial target of $120 million. The first close of ARVF II was in December 2020.
ARVF II is a 10-year private equity fund managed by Ascent Capital Management Africa II Ltd and is domiciled in Mauritius. ARVF II will invest in designated countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
ARVF II will invest equity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in East Africa, looking to take large minority or majority stakes. The targeted sectors include manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade services, financial services, education, healthcare, and agro-processing.
Investors in ARVF II include BIO, BII, FMO, the IFC, Norfund, FISEA (advised by Proparco, France’s development finance institution) and the SDG Frontier Fund, among others.
5. Grey raises $2m to simplify cross-border payments across Africa
Grey, a fintech company started by two Nigerians to simplify sending and receiving foreign payments for Africans, has raised $2 million in seed funding. The service offered by Grey enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free and enjoy a seamless foreign payment process.
Grey’s seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund and True Culture Fund. According to the CEO, Idorenyin Obong, with this new round of capital, they plan to launch into new markets and extend their product suite to include not just remittances but also person-to-person and business-to-business payments.
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