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. South Africa: Eris Property Group raises $41m for student accommodation fund
Eris Property Group has raised an initial R650 million (about $41.4 million) for its social impact student accommodation fund from a consortium of domestic and international investors including Momentum Metropolitan Life, Eskom Pension and Provident Fund and the International Finance Corporation, which has announced the potential commitment on its website for comment.
Eris has been leveraging on its existing skills within property developments and management to alleviate the need for student accommodation shortages in South Africa, which culminated in the development of its sub-brand RISE Student Living. RISE Student Living property management service is completely tech-driven, whereby the entire leasing process, encompassing every stakeholder involved, happens digitally.
2. DEG commits $40m to AfricInvest Fund IV
German development financier DEG has disclosed a commitment of $40 million to AfricInvest Fund IV, signed earlier this year. AfricInvest Fund IV is a pan-African fund established by private equity firm AfricInvest.
The fund provides growth capital to mid-size companies across Africa in diverse industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, education, FMCG, logistics and distribution.
3. Lateral Capital and Consonance lead investment in Nigerian HR platform
Lagos based HR and payroll tech start-up SeamlessHR has closed a VC-led round of funding to unlock its next phase of growth. The round was led by New York-based Lateral Capital and Lagos-based Consonance Investment Managers, with participation from Enza Capital and Ingressive Capital.
Founded in 2018, SeamlessHR is building Africa’s first enterprise-grade, cloud-based HR platform. SeamlessHR helps medium to large-sized companies automate and optimise their entire HR process from recruitment to retirement on one inter-connected platform at a price point that is affordable for African businesses.
4. Imperial Venture Fund invests in African e-logistics company
Imperial, an African and European-focused provider of integrated market access and logistics solutions, announced an investment in and partnership with Lori Systems to expand its cutting-edge e-logistics technology solutions across Africa.
Lori Systems is an e-logistics platform in Africa and seamlessly coordinates haulage in frontier markets. The Imperial Venture Fund, managed by Newtown Partners – a US venture capital firm – recently concluded an investment in Lori Systems to support its growth in East and West Africa. The Imperial and Lori Systems partnership in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region will help develop and enhance Africa’s road freight industry through digital innovation and enablement.
5. Salesforce Ventures launches new $100m impact fund
Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of customer relationship management (CRM) company Salesforce, launched a new $100 million impact fund to support innovative companies driving positive social change. In 2017, Salesforce launched its first $50 million impact fund.
Salesforce Ventures has invested in some of the most disruptive startups delivering solutions across education and reskilling, climate action, diversity, equity and inclusion, and enabling tech for nonprofits and foundations – including companies like Andela, Angaza, Ellevest, FutureFuel, Measurabl, pymetrics, Urbint and Ureeka.
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