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Deal news
Cofina Gabon raises CFA4bn to finance Gabonese SMEs
Cofina Gabon, a pan-African leader in mesofinance, has obtained medium term financing of CFA4bn ($6.9m) from the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. ACT Afrique and ARIES Investissements acted as co-financial advisors in the transaction to raise funding which will be used to help SMEs grow their activities across Gabon. Present in eight African countries (Burkina Faso, Congo-Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Senegal, and soon Togo) and with a representative office in Paris dedicated to the African diaspora, Cofina has already financed more than 84,000 business projects, 48% of which are led by women.
Gold trading and refining in Nigeria – the Dukia Gold Project
Dukia, in collaboration with Heritage Bank Plc, plans to aggregate Nigeria’s entire gold value chain from mines and recyclable gold to mint and from mint to market. Under the buying pro-gramme, miners and owners of recyclable gold and precious metals can walk into any branch of Heritage Bank and have their products assayed, valued, and purchased instantly, subject to KYC procedures and compliance with OECD guidelines. The project is financed by a mix of equity and debt, advised by PAC Capital and Babalakin & Co respectively, as financial and legal advisors. These partners are simultaneously helping Dukia to build what is planned to be Nigeria’s first London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited and ISO 9001 certified gold bullion refinery.
RENEW’s IAN makes follow-on investment in Ethiopia’s #1 online food delivery company
Members of RENEW’s Impact Angel Network (IAN) has funded a third investment in Roadrunner Technology Solutions LLC (Roadrunner), a partner of Deliver Addis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Deliver Addis is the pioneer e-commerce company in Ethiopia. Since 2015, Deliver Addis has focused on online food delivery, but in April 2020, in response to increased demand caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the company expanded services and now includes an online marketplace that enables Ethiopian consumers to shop for groceries and other essential goods online. Since the IAN’s initial investment, the company’s daily deliveries have grown 630%.
DPI announces a $56m investment into SICAM
Development Partners International (DPI) has made an investment into Société Industrielle des Conserves Alimentaires (SICAM), a leading food business and tomato processor in Tunisia. Established in 1969, SICAM is the leading producer of canned tomatoes, pepper pastes, and jams and one of the most recognised brand names in Tunisia’s food and agri-industry, with a strong track record of delivering quality products to its customers. DPI, as an active investor, will be partnering with the Bayahi Group to sup-port SICAM’s management team in the development of SICAM’s future strategy and growth opportunities, including further strengthen-ing SICAM’s leading position in its core market of Tunisia, as well as developing its export strategy in light of Tunisia’s and SICAM’s competitiveness in the industry. Through this partnership, SICAM will benefit from DPI’s significant regional and sector expertise and its active management approach to investing.
Connect Saint Helena signs contract with PASH to meet 100% renewable energy target
Connect Saint Helena Ltd (Connect) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with PASH Global to provide wind turbine, solar power and battery storage capacity to St Helena, significantly increasing the amount of renewable energy capacity on the Island and resulting in the majority of the Island’s energy needs being met by renewable sources. It was agreed that PASH Global would undertake both phase 1 and 2 of their proposal in tandem, estimated to be delivered to the Island during the course of 2021. This means that in the first instance they will be providing a full 568kWp/ 500kW solar farm; 2.7MW wind farm made up of three turbines; and a 3.2MWh/3.5MW battery. This will generate at least 9.133 GWh per annum.
Actis exits GHL Bank
Actis has exited its majority stake in GHL Bank, a full-scale commercial bank in Ghana, to First National Bank Ghana, a 100% subsidiary of FirstRand Group. Actis took over the investment in 2019 when it took over the management of Abraaj Africa Fund III. The transaction has received the required regulatory approvals from the Bank of Ghana and the South African Reserve Bank. The fund invested in GHL Bank in 2016, and enabled the company to leverage its unique value proposition as the leading mortgage provider in Ghana to achieve the transition into a full-scale commercial bank focused on the retail sector. The original investment thesis was premised on GHL’s robust mortgage model, deep knowledge of the retail customer and the significant growth opportunities that exist within this segment of the Ghanaian banking industry.
ARPF invests $3m in Sun Exchange
SA blockchain-based solar panel micro-leasing marketplace, Sun Exchange has raised a $3m investment from ARPF, a Mauritian private equity fund which is advised by London-based Arch Emerging Markets Partners. The close of this funding round and the investment from ARCH Emerging Markets Partners will unlock the next phase of growth for Sun Exchange, enabling the firm to expand its work solar powering schools, clinics, farms, cell towers, water plants, businesses and other organisations across sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, the Sun Ex-change members will be provided with opportunities to further diversity their solar cell portfolios across regions and industries. Sun Exchange says last year, the company more than doubled the size of its community, which now stands at more than 17,000 members from 162 countries.
Zeder Investments sells stake in Quantum Foods
South African agribusiness investor Zeder has sold its 32.1% stake in the animal feed company Quantum Foods Holding Limited to Country Bird Holdings. The transaction was carried out through Zeder’s subsidiary Zeder Financial Services. Zeder Investments will use the R308.1m ($18m) cashed from this sale to strengthen its cash reserves and recapitalise its subsidiaries during the pandemic period. The firm is also looking for new investment opportunities in promising sectors.
PROPARCO and Société Générale Cameroun provide €30m for Douala Grand Mall
Through their financing, for a total amount of €30m ($33m), including a tranche in CFA francs, PROPARCO and Société Générale are support-ing the private equity investor Actis for the construction of Douala Grand Mall (DGM), where a supermarket, 160 shops and boutiques, 22 restaurants and a cinema will open on 18,500 sq metres of rental space. Douala Grand Mall is expected to create over 4,500 direct jobs, including 3,200 in the construction phase, with an expected 1,200 in the operating phase. DGM is the first phase of a Business Park project that should eventually include a five-star hotel and offices.
Edge Growth invests in black-women-owned company Engen Belfast
Edge Growth, an enterprise and supplier development firm, has announced that the Edge Action Fund has awarded a debt loan in-vestment to Engen Belfast, a wholly black-women-owned company that is bringing jobs and income to Belfast, a small town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The new filling station has 92 employees whose jobs will be sustained through the loan. Staff come from the surrounding disadvantaged communities.
Argentil Capital Partners invests in Nigerian residential and commercial space company
Àrgentil Capital Partners, a Nigeria-based energy and infrastructure advisory firm, has provided additional debt and equity investment to support its portfolio company, Tempohousing Nigeria Limited (THN) which specialises in developing flexible and affordable residential and commercial spaces using modern prefabricated technology and cargotecture. The debt was provided to fund working capital to support the execution of ongoing projects including renewable energy training centres at universities and healthcare projects, some for Covid-19 interventions across Nigeria. Àrgentil also converted loan notes to increase its shareholding in THN to help position the company’s balance sheet for future growth. The company expects to execute a number of development projects in the near term to deliver shared and co-living spaces for young professionals as well as student accommodation given the significant demand in these sub-sectors.
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