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. Finnfund commits to Development Partners International’s third fund
Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor, announced a $26 million commitment to African Development Partners III (ADP III), a pan-African private equity fund aiming to foster the growth and development of African consumer-focused businesses across the continent.
The fund is advised by Development Partners International (DPI), a private equity firm with a $1.1 billion portfolio that has invested in 20 portfolio companies across its two former funds: ADP I and ADP II.
ADP III is aiming to invest $40-120 million in eight-14 companies in different sectors. So far, the fund has made three investments in three sectors: in microfinance and fintech, food processing, and pharmaceuticals.
2. CardinalStone leads $10m Nigerian fintech fundraise
Appzone, the pan-African fintech software provider building proprietary solutions for the continent’s banking and payments industries, has announced the close of its $10 million series A round.
Led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers with participation from V8 Capital, Lateral Investment Partners, Constant Capital and Itanna Capital Ventures, the new round will bolster investment in Appzone’s core technologies and kick off a wave of new country expansions in a drive to build out a financial operating system intended to completely digitise and automate the delivery of financial services on the continent.
3. Algebra Ventures launches $90m second fund
Algebra Ventures, an Egyptian VC firm, announced the launch of its $90 million second fund, dedicated to investing in startups with a focus on Egypt with an allocation for the MEA region. Algebra Ventures is targeting a first closing in Q3 of 2021.
Four years into its first $54 million fund, Algebra has invested in 21 startups.
4. Kalon Venture Partners makes follow-on investment
South African venture capital firm Kalon Venture Partners has announced its follow-on investment in cyber-security email protection and compliance business, Sendmarc.
Sendmarc was launched in 2018 by Sam Hutchinson, Keith Thompson and Sacha Matulovich. These key founding members were the pioneers in identifying a need for a safer and more secure email environment for small to large companies.
5. Harith launches $200m top up infrastructure fund
Harith General Partners has announced a $200 million capital raise in a follow-up fund to its Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) 2, that is open to existing and new investors.
The PAIDF 2 Infrastructure Top Up Fund is a shorter term vehicle (five-to-six years) that is being established to take advantage of very near-term expansion opportunities in some of the best performing PAIDF 2 portfolio companies and realise a mature pipeline of high-quality infrastructure opportunities for investors.
Harith’s PAIDF 1 and PAIDF 2 portfolio companies include Aldwych Holdings Limited, one of the largest independent power providers on the continent; South African telecommunications infrastructure group CIVH; MainOne, an undersea cable company and provider of telecom services and network solutions for businesses in West Africa; Lanseria International Airport, South Africa’s only privately owned international airport; Beitbridge Border Post, the busiest border post in Southern Africa, and others.
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