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. Newtown Partners announces partnership with DP World
Newtown Partners announced a partnership with global supply chain company DP World, a progression of its already established partnership with South Africa-based Imperial Logistics, which was wholly acquired by DP World in March 2022. As part of this partnership, DP World has committed new capital to the corporate venture capital fund and renamed it from the ’Imperial Innovation Venture Fund’ to ‘DP World’s Innovation Venture Fund’.
The fund, initiated in 2019 as a $50 million corporate venture capital fund, has already made substantial progress in its first four years, investing globally in 14 startups spanning road freight exchanges in long-haul, last mile and drayage, road freight management systems, healthtech, insurtech, digital freight forwarding, and supply chain visibility.
2. AFIG Funds invests in West African packaging company
Private equity firm Advanced Finance and Investment Group (AFIG Funds) and Norfund have announced the joint acquisition of Nouvelle Mici Embaci (NME) to scale up its operations and roll out an ambitious modernisation plan and regional growth strategy.
NMW, a subsidiary of Groupe Carré d’Or, is a packaging company in Côte d’Ivoire and Francophone West Africa. It was founded in 1983 and manufactures corrugated packaging as well as polypropylene bags and provides industrial printing services.
Norfund and AFIG Funds have partnered with Bridge Bank Côte d’Ivoire and Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) to provide necessary acquisition financing and working capital facilities to scale the business to its next growth phase.
3. AfDB commits to BluePeak Private Capital Fund
The board of directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved an $11 million equity investment in the BluePeak Private Capital Fund toward its $155 million target for final close. The investment advances the bank’s goal of supporting mid-size firms, including in the pharmaceuticals, agribusiness, manufacturing, and logistics sectors, across Africa.
BluePeak – a flagship private capital fund domiciled in Luxembourg – will provide growth capital to middle-sized companies with the potential to become pan African market leaders. The fund will target adding value to portfolio companies by enabling their expansion, recapitalisation, and deleveraging. It is expected to make at least eight investments of $8 million to $25 million in companies with established cash flow generation.
4. Invest International commits €10m to new Goodwell fund
Invest International is putting €10 million into uMunthu II, Goodwell’s latest venture capital fund. The aim of this fund is to help African startups grow and expand internationally.
uMunthu II gives money and direct help to the companies it invests in. In the first round of funding, €57 million was raised out of a total target of €150 million. The main goal is to help Africa’s growing population get access to essential goods and services like food, energy, transport, education, or mobile banking.
5. Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures backs Moroccan B2B e-commerce company
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) has made a $1.5 million investment in Chari, a Morocco-based B2B e-commerce company.
In Morocco, much like other African countries, most fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) trade is conducted through informal retail shops, which currently account for over 80% of the total FMCG trade. However, these vital establishments face operational inefficiencies due to multiple layers of intermediaries involved, a lack of digitisation, and limited access to trade finance. Chari has made a significant impact in this field, altering the dynamics of informal retail shops by providing necessary goods and services in a more economical and efficient way.
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