The latest finance from Convergence Partners to promote digital inclusivity in Africa
Founded in 2006, Convergence Partners invests in technology and digital infrastructure opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa as value-adding partners in the private equity sector and the digital industry. The fund is worth more than US$400 million in assets in South, East, and West Africa through three funds, including the recently established Digital Infrastructure Fund for the Convergence Partners.
The fund is seeking an ultimate size of US$250 million and has announced the first closure of US$120 million. Leading investors include the CDC Group in the United Kingdom, the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in the United States, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Proparco, the private sector arm of the Agence Française de Développement – AFD Group.
The infrastructure demands of growing growth themes in the digital infrastructure ecosystem, such as fibre, wireless, data centers, and towers, as well as 5G, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and network virtualisation, will drive investments by the new fund. Ctrack, a data analytics company that serves the fleet management and insurance sectors, was the company’s first investment, which was disclosed earlier this year.
“We are delighted to have achieved this milestone particularly given the headwinds in African PE fundraising generally, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business activity, over the past 12 months. We are very pleased with the level of support from both repeat and new investors and believe this reflects our solid track record and the opportunity CPDIF presents at this crucial time in both tech and African context,” said Brandon Doyle chief executive officer (CEO) of Convergence Partners.
