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. First close for AfricInvest-managed health fund
The Health Finance Coalition announced the close of the first $50 million for the pan-African Transform Health Fund (THF), managed by AfricInvest. With this first close, the THF will begin investing in innovative models to improve access, affordability, resilience, and quality of healthcare in Africa.
The fund is a joint venture between the Health Finance Coalition and AfricInvest, bringing together commercial, public, and private donor investments from Royal Philips, Merck & Co., Inc., the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Swedfund, FSD Africa Investments, Grand Challenges Canada (with funding from Global Affairs Canada), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Netri Foundation, Anesvad Foundation, Chemonics International, and MCJ Amelior Foundation.
The THF will provide debt and mezzanine financing to scale high-impact health enterprises serving vulnerable communities while offering risk-adjusted returns to investors.
2. Nigeria: Helium Health secures $30m funding
Helium Health, a Lagos-headquartered healthtech company providing software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools, financing, and insights to healthcare providers and public health organisations, has raised $30 million in Series-B funding. The round was led by AXA IM Alts with participation from Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Anne Wojcicki (founder of 23&Me) and Flatworld Partners. Existing investors Global Ventures, Tencent, Ohara Pharmaceuticals, LCY Group, WTI and AAIC also participated in the round.
Helium Health will use the capital to expand the reach of HeliumCredit, a digital finance product for Africa’s healthcare sector. Launched in 2020, HeliumCredit has extended more than $3.5 million in credit to over 200 healthcare facilities in Nigeria, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and diagnostics centres, which have used the loans to purchase medical equipment, medications in bulk, and expand their locations. With easier access to credit, healthcare providers are able to increase patient retention, increase revenues, and improve the quality of care. Helium Health will launch HeliumCredit in Kenya this year.
3. Morocco: Plug and Play increases investment in B2B e-commerce platform
Plug and Play has made a second investment in Chari, the Morocco-based B2B e-commerce platform for FMCG goods, operating in Morocco and Francophone Africa.
Around 80% of the consumption market in developing countries’ FMCG sector is composed of a fragmented network of traditional local shops. Chari, first invested in by Plug and Play in 2020, offers a solution to modernise these stores’ operations and stock replenishment methods.
4. New Irish-backed carbon investment fund for Africa
A €10 million carbon investment fund, the Vita Green Impact Fund, has been established with the backing of Irish venture philanthropists and US impact investors. This initiative, in partnership with the Irish development agency Vita, aims to support 1.3 million individuals in rural Ethiopia and Eritrea. It plans to provide access to safe water and promote the use of carbon-saving cookstoves. The fund’s operation is overseen by Irish fund manager FCI.
This fund is an expanded version of a pilot project run between 2016 and 2020, where Vita raised €2 million, resulting in clean water and cookstoves for 311,000 people, two million tonnes of carbon emissions savings, and conservation and planting of up to five million trees. The resulting carbon offsets were purchased by Irish and international organisations looking to complement emission reductions.
5. Amethis announces new appointment
Private equity firm Amethis has announced the appointment of Karim Naim as a senior associate in Cairo.
Naim joins Amethis from HC Securities & Investment, where he previously worked as a vice president in investment banking.