AfricInvest announces closing of $411m for AfricInvest Fund IV, its largest African fund
Launched two years ago, AfricInvest Fund IV, which targets mid-cap companies in Africa, has achieved its final closing by obtaining significant commitments that make it “the largest African fund” of AfricInvest since the launch of its activities in 1994.
The investment platform AfricInvest announced on Tuesday May 24, the closing of its “largest African fund”, AfricInvest Fund IV, at $411 million. This amount, which was largely oversubscribed, is “the largest in the history of AfricInvest”.
Never before has the investment and financial services company raised such an amount since the launch of its activities in 1994. AfricInvest Fund IV, which is a multi-sector fund, will invest primarily in mature and profitable mid-cap companies in Africa with the objective of accelerating the regional growth of these companies while generating attractive returns for its investors.
“AfricInvest Fund IV is well positioned to continue to finance African companies, supporting their development into local and regional champions. Our expertise and local knowledge allows us to generate exclusive deals to help create long-term strategies to create value for portfolio companies,” said Skander Oueslati (pictured), senior partner at AfricInvest.
This final closing comes two years after the launch of AfricInvest Fund IV. This vehicle, which has far exceeded its initial amount set at $400 million, follows the AfricInvest Fund III, which closed in 2016 at €272 million (about $300 million).
Since its launch, AfricInvest Fund IV has already closed three transactions, in Ghana, Kenya and Morocco. The first investment, in mid-2020, was the acquisition of a minority stake in commercial bank Fidelity Bank Ghana.
The second, completed in 2021, was an investment in Compagnie marocaine de goutte et de pompage, engaged in irrigation and agribusiness in Morocco. The third, announced last April, was a co-investment with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Kenyan company AutoXpress, an importer and distributor of tires, auto parts and accessories in East Africa.
AfricInvest, which has raised $411 million from institutional investors, development finance institutions and family offices across Africa, Europe and North America, says it is convinced of the “opportunities” that exist in mid-cap African companies, hence its choice to target them specifically.
The investment platform goes on to say that these opportunities will continue to grow over the years. Since its inception, AfricInvest claims to have raised over $2 billion and invested in more than 190 companies in 35 countries across Africa. www.africinvest.com
