Good corporate governance makes sound commercial sense (Part 1)
‘Good corporate governance helps companies operate more efficiently, improve access to capital, mitigate risk, and safeguard against mismanagement.’ (International Finance Corporation). (1)
Q1 2025 - (released May 2025)
SA's quarterly Private Equity & Venture Capital magazine
Catalyst snippets - Q1 2025
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During February 2025, Summit Africa, a specialist black-owned and managed impact investment manager and licensed financial services provider, launched its Private Equity Fund II (SPEF II) with a US$20 million anchor commitment from impact investor British International Investment (BII), the UK government development finance institution. SPEF II will invest in small-to-mid market companies in financial services and ICT sectors to drive financial and digital inclusion, job creation, transformation and diversity across South Africa and the Southern African region. The fund will also target food security as an additional investment sector.
Sweden’s development finance institution Swedfund, alongside Norwegian development finance institution Norfund and British International Investment (BII) have invested US$85 million in AgDevCo. The joint commitment will support small and medium-sized agribusinesses to increase productivity and expand food systems across sub-Saharan Africa. This will include agribusinesses producing nutritious foods for local consumption and high-value export crops. The equity investment comprises up to $50 million from BII, $20 million from Swedfund, and $15 million from Norfund.
During March 2025, Norfund announced a US$7,5 million investment in the Inside Equity Fund II, a private equity fund backing small and medium-sized enterprises in Southeast Africa. The investment brings the fund’s total capital to $62 million, strength-ening its ability to provide long-term financing to businesses that drive job creation, waste reduction, access to clean energy and gender equality. The fund’s initial investment will be in Madagascar, Zambia and Mauritius, with the potential to expand into Mozambique and Tanzania.
Inspired Evolution announced the final close of its Evolution III Fund in March 2025, securing total commitments of US$238 million from 19 investors. The focus of the fund is on clean energy infrastructure, resource and energy efficiency, and energy access investments driving sustainable development in Africa. The fund has made two investments: into Red Rocket Group, a vertically integrated renewable energy independent power producer that develops, designs, constructs and operates utility-scale grid-connected renewable energy projects (wind, solar and hydropower) across select eligible countries in Africa, but predominantly South Africa, and a significant minority co-investment in the majority holding consortium of Equator Energy, a commercial and industrial solar provider in East Africa. Investors in the Evolution III Fund include the European Investment Bank, FMO, the African Development Bank, Finnfund, Swedfund, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets, the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund and the Mauritius Investment Corporation.
DEG, the German development finance institution, continued its long-standing collaboration with Mediterrania Capital Partners during Q1 2025, increasing its stake in the latest fund – Mediterrania Capital IV Mid-Cap – by an additional €15 million, bringing the total amount invested to €25 million. The private equity fund invests across core sectors essential to economic development, such as healthcare, education and consumer goods in North Africa and French-speaking markets in West Africa.
Swedish development finance institution Swedfund has committed €15 million to the AfricInvest small-cap fund, a private equity initiative supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa. The investment aims to support female-led enterprises and bolster climate resilience across the continent, as part of a broader mission to drive sustainable economic growth, job creation and financial inclusion in developing markets. Over the past 30 years, AfricInvest has raised more than €2,1 billion to finance almost 230 companies at various development stages in 38 African countries.
In March, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Sustainable Energy for All, the International Solar Alliance and Africa50 announced an innovative partnership for a US$500 million Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) Nigeria Fund to develop and finance renewable energy projects in Nigeria. A key objective of the Nigeria DRE Fund is to catalyse local currency funding from pension funds, insurance companies and other local institutional investors. By offering tailored financial instruments to attract private sector capital, it aims to address critical challenges such as currency volatility, tariff structures, and the limited availability of local currency financing options. Investments will support mini-grids, solar home systems, commercial and industrial power solutions, embedded generation projects, and innovative energy storage technologies.