According to the Bank’s website, the proposed operation consists of a commitment to IPAE III High Impact For Africa Fund, a €70m target impact fund focusing on entrepreneurship in fragile and least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on West Africa (incl. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) and Madagascar.

The aim is to provide equity and quasi-equity to high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa frontier markets where barely no other private equity fund invests. This operation will contribute to private sector development in economies lacking growth capital to support local African SMEs.

The fund not only aims at generating financial return but also at creating impact. Indeed, the Fund is expected to generate 4,000 direct jobs with additional ones to be created at the level of portfolio companies' suppliers.

For the environmental and social aspects, investee companies will be requested to comply with the EIB's guidelines, as well as with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.

The fund manager is one of the few ones active on this segment of the private equity market in these frontier markets with small ticket sizes ranging €1m to €5m to support the growth of SMEs in Africa.

For over 20 years, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has been committed to financing and supporting SMEs in Africa and assisting investment teams to establish themselves on the continent.

I&P’s activities revolve around three fundamental objectives: to provide finance and assistance to entrepreneurs, to support and develop investment teams, and to bolster the entrepreneurial ecosystem. I&P provides finance for around 50 SMEs each year, and up to now has supported over 300 companies in a variety of sectors. Its team is present in 11 countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Uganda.

Contact: Anne-Cécile Auguin
Email: a.auguin@eib.org
Phone: + 352 4379 - 83330

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/registers/request-form/request-form-default.htm

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