Husayn Sassa, Associate Director, Fund and Investor Services, and Jean Claude Permal, Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer at AXIS tell Africa Global Funds about the firm’s objectives, trends in the African PE industry and more.
In September, Standard Bank and the SA SME Fund have joined other credible investors in backing venture capital firm Knife Capital’s new African Series B expansion fund, Knife Fund III.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003. The financial sector has made extensive advancements in achieving parity across multiple segments, but control and ownership remains largely uninterrupted. A report published by the FSCA in 2022 states that the South African financial sector is “concentrated and interconnected with the largest banks, insurers and fund managers controlling the majority of assets”. It is against this backdrop that the sector can expect a flurry of interventions designed to accelerate the adoption of B-BBEE and promote competition - some of which are explained below.
HAVAÍC’s Rob Heath takes the long view to unpack the perceived downturn in African Venture Capital (VC) funding. Here’s what the data really means and what the future holds for this burgeoning alternative asset class in Africa.
The financial ecosystem in Africa is reaching an exciting new phase of development, especially in terms of the provision of financial services for the underbanked and unbanked. Inclusive financial institutions (IFIs) focusing on this segment of the market, and rather than traditional banks, continue to be at the vanguard of financial inclusion. For the IFI sector to continue expand, it must attract additional capital, which in turn requires commercial success.
Nick Barigye, CEO of Rwanda Finance, which runs the recently launched Kigali International Finance Centre (KIFC), tells AGF how he aims to use KIFC as a route to ensuring Rwanda is the financial gateway to Africa
Access to capital is probably the most significant factor in the success of growth-stage businesses. While investment funding is well within reach in many European countries (especially Scandinavian countries, and in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the UK), lack of access to finance hamstrings businesses in Africa in terms of their ability to expand.
Africa Global Funds’ Anna Lyudvig speaks with Stephen Priestley, Managing Director, Head of Financial Services and Africa Coverage, British International Investment (BII) about BII’s investment strategy, impact investing and more.
Albert Alsina, CEO and Group Managing Partner, Mediterrania Capital Partners: In order to prepare for a successful exit, we always begin to discuss the exit before the investment is executed to ensure there is full alignment of interest with the company shareholders early on and avoid future surprises. At that time, the PE firm should always provide the partner company with a comprehensive analysis including advantages and disadvantages of potential exit routes such as an IPO, Secondary Sale, Trade Sale, MBO with financing, etc. During these initial discussions, the PE firm and the company shareholders should choose one or two options to focus on and begin to consider the most appropriate timing and process.
South African private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) activity is improving after Covid-induced uncertainty, with industry players reporting an increase in transactions. Some notable trends have emerged and are expected to accelerate into the remainder of 2022, writes Tanya van Lill, CEO of the South African Venture Capital Association (SAVCA).
Shafeeq Abrahams, Chief Executive and Principal Officer at the the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) tells Africa Global Funds about the recently launched SME Debt Fund, investment strategy and trends around pension funds investing in Africa.
Bronwyn Knight, CEO of Grit Real Estate Income Group, tells AGF about real estate investment opportunities in Africa, trends, the company’s approach to investing and challenges
Angola raised $1.75bn in overseas markets this month following three other Eurobond issues in 2015, 2018 and 2019. The government said that $750m of the proceeds from this debt sale will be used to buyback existing Eurobonds due in 2025 and 2028 and the remainder to finance its budget.
The South African hedge fund industry ended 2021 with assets under management of R86.93bn, according to Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA).
