The I & P Afrique Entrepreneurs 1 (IPAE 1) fund, launched by Investisseurs & Partenaires in 2012, is now completing two new outings: the CONERGIES group, based in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, and the Senegalese company Delta Irrigation. Both are with strategic partners who can lead these companies to a new stage of development while respecting the vision and values of I & P and entrepreneurs.
Strategic partnerships to continue the development of promising African SMEs
Founded in 2003 in Senegal, Delta Irrigation specializes in the design and construction of hydraulic systems, especially in the agricultural field and water treatment. In particular, I & P supported the company’s diversification strategy, which now operates in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. The IPAE 1 fund has signed an agreement to sell the majority of its shares to two strategic players for the company: the French irrigation equipment supplier Kulker and the Senegalese company Bernegal, belonging to the Agrifos group and operating in the agricultural sector . Part of the shares were also sold to the director of Delta Irrigation in Côte d’Ivoire.
CONERGIES is a leading group in HVAC, refrigeration, and solar solutions, with a subsidiary in Mali and a subsidiary in Ivory Coast. In line with its initial commitment, I & P withdrew from the company after six years in which the team supported the structuring of the company, its marketing redesign and the start of its operations in Côte d’Ivoire. The output is on the EDF group, which becomes a partner of CONERGIES to deploy innovative energy efficiency solutions in West Africa.
“We are proud to sell our shares to these strategic players, who will be able to bring these two companies to new growth stages,” explains Sébastien Boyé, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of I & P. “We are convinced of the strategic and industrial value of these new partnerships, but also of their alignment in terms of values and environmental and social vision, which are at the heart of our investments. ”
High-performance and high impact outings for the IPAE fund 1
With € 54 million, the I & P Afrique Entrepreneurs 1 (IPAE 1) fund supported between 2012 and 2017 a total of 29 African SMEs, operating in twelve sub-Saharan African countries and a dozen sectors (agro-industry, health , microfinance …). While the IPAE 2 successor fund is now making its first investments, the exit process is very advanced for IPAE 1 companies and demonstrates the strategic interest that African SMEs with strong growth potential can offer. impact. These two new exits represent for IPAE 1 very good financial performances, in line with the objectives of the fund. Between 2012 and 2018, the turnover of these companies has been multiplied by five and the number of employees by three, increasing respectively from 5 to 15 employees for Delta and from 35 to 100 employees for CONERGIES.
As a minority impact investor, Investors & Partners primarily targets exit options aligned with the entrepreneur’s vision and with the impact approach implemented with each company. An action plan on ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) issues is defined for each company in the IPAE portfolio, as well as a series of impact indicators, updated annually. For CONERGIES and Delta Irrigation, the focus was on the environment (energy efficiency measures) and employees (health insurance, workplace safety, etc.).
