AfricInvest, a longtime partner and significant force in impact investing in Africa, has launched a new fund specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and French development finance agency Proparco has invested EUR10 million (US $10.4 million) in it.
With a focus on gender and climate impacts, the AfricInvest Small Cap fund will support businesses in implementing inclusive and responsible practices while bolstering SMEs, which are vital to the continent’s economic growth and job creation.
The fund will assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various African nations, primarily in North, East, and West Africa, that specialize in a variety of important fields, such as agribusiness, education, and health.
According to Brahim El Jai, senior partner at AfricInvest, the fund is a component of his company’s continuous effort to assist small and medium-sized African companies with significant growth and impact potential in their quest to become catalysts for long-term change.
“By combining financial support with our local and multi-regional expertise, we are supporting innovation, job creation and the adoption of climate strategies in line with the Paris Agreements. Our aim is to help these companies generate measurable economic, social and environmental value, while consolidating their position in strategic markets,” he said.
The investment director for Proparco, Jérémie Ceyrac, stated that his company’s contribution to the fund was entirely consistent with the Choose Africa campaign, which Proparco started to assist African startups and SMEs.
“This fund reflects our ambition to strengthen the capacities of African entrepreneurs and to respond to economic, social and environmental challenges in a sustainable manner. Our partnership with AfricInvest goes back more than 25 years and we are proud to be able to once again play a joint role in supporting the continent’s economic fabric,” he said.
