ECP Africa Fund IV has just completed its fundraising and is thus the largest African investment fund raised since September 2016. ECP has brought together many public and private investors, based in Africa, Europe and North America.
Pan-African venture capital investor Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) announces the closing of its fourth pan-African fund, ECP Africa Fund IV (AFIV). Headquartered in Mauritius, AFIV and its associated co-investment vehicles earned over $ 640 million in commitments, attracting many investors based in Africa, Europe and North America. ECP is particularly pleased to gather through AFIV the largest proportion of African investors in its history, with a significant contribution from a large number of pension funds and insurance companies from the continent. In total, African investors account for more than half of the total number of investors.
The limited partners include public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds as well as private sector investors such as Old Mutual Africa Private Equity Fund of Funds and a financial vehicle managed by 57 Stars. In addition, investors in Development Financial Institutions include the Promotion and Participation Company for Economic Cooperation (Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency), the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the African Development Bank. (ADB) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). On the basis of data published by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) as well as the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), AFIV is the largest investment fund raised in Africa since September 2016, excluding infrastructure funds and real estate funds.
ECP pursues its investment strategy aimed at meeting the basic needs of consumers or businesses. AFIV prioritizes significant majority or minority shareholdings in four key pan-African sectors: financial services, consumer goods, telecommunications and ICT, infrastructure and logistics. AFIV has already completed four investments with operations in seven countries and has a strong pipeline of projects.
With this new fund, ECP intends to promote its focus on environmental, social and governance best practices as well as economic inclusion through its portfolio of companies. Headquartered in the United States, ECP has an investment team of 29 experienced professionals and strong field coverage across its six offices across the continent.
Hurley Doddy and Vincent Le Guennou, co-CEO of ECP, said: “We are proud that investors have recognized our track record by entrusting us with capital in our fourth fund. This successful fundraising is another sign of their confidence in our value proposition on the African continent. ECP is a long-term investor and strives to build platforms in a few targeted sectors such as energy, finance and logistics. ECP has always strived to promote true African champions and has played a role in every step of the history of private equity in Africa. With AFIV, ECP intends to deepen its commitment to the growth of the continent. “
