Apis Partners, a private equity asset manager focused on financial services in the growth markets of Africa and South Asia, has announced the final close of Apis Growth Fund I. 

At $287m, the Fund closes significantly above its target of $250m. 

The Fund’s investors include development financial institutions, global financial institutions and fund of funds investors from Europe, North America, Africa and Middle East. 

The investors in this close include the African Development Bank (AfDB), 57 Stars, Obviam (Switzerland), South Suez Capital (South Africa), Prudential (US) and Sarona Asset Management (Canada). 

Previously admitted investors include the Intesa Sanpaolo Group (Italy), CDC (UK), the European Investment Bank, FMO (Netherlands), Swedfund (Sweden) and Old Mutual (South Africa). 

Matteo Stefanel, Apis Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: “We are privileged and honoured to have such high quality investors in the Fund.” 

“These investors bring a wealth of experience in our target regions of Africa and South Asia as well as in the financial services and technologies vertical, and their confidence in the Apis mandate is a strong validation of the opportunities that these regions have to offer to investors in this sector,” he said.

APIS Growth Fund I  provides growth finance in the form of equity and quasi-equity investments to private sector SMEs and mid-caps active in the financial sector in Africa and Asia. 

In particular, the Fund targets mid-market companies active in the creation and development of technology-enabled financial sector infrastructure, such as payment gateways, switches, payment platforms, as well as software for automated processing of transaction data. 

The Fund also invests in financial intermediaries where the relevant business model includes a distinctive technological element.

Stephen O’Neill, Managing Director, 57 Stars, said: “Financial Services are an important part of the Global Emerging Markets growth story, and an increasing one thanks to the evolution in distribution models. As EM specialists ourselves, we value domain specialization: our decision to invest in Apis Growth Fund was largely based on the team’s deep industry expertise and their focus on innovation in financial services in Emerging Markets.” 

Grace Kyokunda, CIO, AfDB, added: “Financial Inclusion is a key driver of what we do, and we believe that Apis Growth Fund I will be catalytic to deepening financial inclusion in Africa. The existing portfolio and the pipeline of future investments are strong evidence of how companies can drive financial inclusion, improve access to formal financial services and have a meaningful impact in our markets, whilst being sustainable and profitable.” 

Since its first close in August 2015, the Fund has deployed approximately $130m in five companies operating in financial services in Africa and South Asia. 

The Fund’s current portfolio includes a pan-Africa mSME lender (MicroCred), an ATM service provider in India (Electronic Payment and Services), a pan-Africa online payment platform (Direct Pay Online), a remittance company focused on Africa and Asia (Transfast), and the leading retail health insurance company in India (Star Health and Allied Insurance). 

Udayan Goyal, Apis Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: “We have been investing in the African and South Asian regions for a number of years, and we continue to be delighted with the quality and number of the companies that are operating in the financial services space.” 

“We are excited about the five companies the Fund has already invested in and look forward to deploying further capital. We thank our investors for their confidence in Apis and the team,” he said.