International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a seed investment round of US$6 million for Kobo360, a Nigeria-based digital logistics platform serving agribusiness, consumer goods and manufacturing companies with long-haul freighting needs. Other investors in the round include private equity and venture capital firms Cardinal Stone Partners, Chandaria Capital, Sequoia Scout,… Read More
Amethis Finance and the West Africa Emerging Markets Growth Fund (WAEMGF) have exited their stakes in Côte d’Ivoire-based downstream oil and gas company Petro Ivoire via a leveraged management buyout (MBO). Africa-focused private credit fund manager Vantage Capital provided EUR19 million (approximately US$21 million) of mezzanine funding to support the… Read More
Pan-African private equity fund manager AfricInvest has reached a final close for Maghreb Private Equity IV with EUR194 million (approximately US$221 million) in capital commitments. The African Development Bank committed EUR20 million (approximately US$23 million) in this latest close. Other investors in the fund include development finance institutions CDC, EBRD,… Read More
East Africa-focused private equity fund manager Catalyst Principal Partners has reached a final close for Catalyst Fund II with US$155 million in capital commitments. Investors in the fund include development finance institutions EIB, IFC, AfDB and SIFEM. Catalyst Fund II will invest between US$7.5 million and US$22.5 million in consumer-focused… Read More
Alternative investment fund managers AfricInvest and Gulf Capital have invested US$51 million in iSON Xperiences, a Kenya-based outsourcing and customer service company. Through AfricInvest III and Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund II, the firms each provided US$25.5 million in structured debt and equity financing to support iSON’s growth and acquire shares… Read More
EMPEA Members log in to receive exclusive access to the detailed report (PDF) and underlying data (Excel). In the first three quarters of 2018, overall EM fundraising and investment totals increased 82 percent and 14 percent, respectively, compared to a year prior. Download the Industry Statistics to view… Read More
Global private equity fund manager Warburg Pincus has led a Series B round of US$150 million for Geek+, a China-based artificial intelligence-enabled robotics developer. Vertex Ventures and Volcanics Venture also participated in the round. Geek+ provides warehousing, logistics and manufacturing automation solutions to Australia-, Asia-, Europe- and U.S.-based corporations. Read More
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and venture capital firm TLcom Capital have led an investment of US$10 million in Twiga Foods, a Kenya-based agribusiness technology company. Other participants in the funding round include existing investors Wamda Capital, DOB Equity, 1776 and AHL Venture Partners. The company, which connects smallholder farmers to… Read More
Africa-focused private equity fund manager Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) has reached a final close for ECP Africa Fund IV (AFIV), garnering more than US$640 million in commitments to the fund and related co-investments. The fund’s investors—over half of which are Africa-based, with the remainder based in Europe and North America—include… Read More
Southern Africa-focused alternative investment fund manager Ethos has reached a first close for its seventh buyout fund with ZAR2 billion (approximately US$140 million) in capital commitments from local South African investors. Separately, Ethos has reached a first close for its maiden artificial intelligence (AI)-focused fund, established in partnership with former… Read More
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