HSEG (IFC-48769)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 18, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Helios Sports and Entertainment Group Ltd.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 30.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 75.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 14, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Mar 11, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, Helios Sports and Entertainment Group (“HSEG”) is an investment platform designed to capitalize on Africa’s unique demographic profile and global technological advancements by investing in companies and assets in the African sports and entertainment sector.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The Project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with the IFC’s Sustainability Policy. The proposed investment is in Helios Sports and Entertainment Group (HSEG), a company investing in sports, media, and entertainment companies in Africa. HSEG is sponsored by Helios Investment Partners, an alternative investment manager in Africa. The main E&S risks and potential impacts of the Project derive from the E&S risks associated with the Fund's investment activities, E&S capacity and system in place to manage these risks.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The proposed project involves an equity investment of up to US$30 million from IFC’s own account in the context of HSEG’s fundraising worth US$75 million from third-party investors to execute on its strategy and invest in companies operating in the African sports and entertainment sector.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

HSEG is fully owned by Helios Fairfax Partners, is a pan-African alternative investment manager and is a publicly listed company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Helios Fairfax Partners is primarily owned by HFP Investment Holdings SARL (a holding company indirectly owned by the managing partners of Helios Investment Partners, with 45.9% voting rights and 46.3% equity interest), Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (53.4% voting rights and 34.5% equity interest), while the remaining listed securities are held by other public investors. 


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Helios Sports and Entertainment Group
Absera Gizaw
Strategy Lead
+44 207 484-7700
Info@HeliosLLP.com
2nd floor, 12 Charles II Street, St. James's, London SW1Y 4QU, United Kingdom
https://www.heliosinvestment.com/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works