AfricInvest Financial Inclusion Vehicle

Equity : December 2017

AfricInvest Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE) is an evergreen investment fund focusing on financial inclusion in Africa.

Amount

€ 10,000,000.00

Type of investment

Equity

Development impacts

Local economic growth
Private sector consolidation/innovation
Financial inclusion

Beneficiary locations

Middle East & North Africa: Morocco

Sub-Saharan Africa: Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia

Investment field

Investment Companies & Funds

Activity

MFI fund

Organisation

AfricInvest Financial Inclusion Vehicle

Core target companies will be established African mid-size banks and insurers, as well as microfinance and leasing institutions, with a strategy to expand into the unbanked retail and SME segments, with a special focus on how the ongoing fintech changes in the financial sector could impact these institutions.

The main particularity and innovation of this project is its evergreen character, i.e. no initially fixed end date. The rationale is that more time is needed to get the most out of investments in the financial sector (compared to most other sectors). More particularly, the process to obtain a banking license from local Central Banks can be very long.

Development impacts

Local economic growth
Provision of additional mid to long-term capital to financial institutions which will a.o. enable them to keep up with increasing Capital Adequacy Ratios. This aspect is further reinforced by the fact that there are currently not a lot of equity providers for smaller financial institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Private sector consolidation/innovation
- Market structuring effects through a novel instrument : FIVE will be the first evergreen fund focusing on the financial sector in Africa, capable of offering funding on a longer term than classic closed-end vehicles. Also the specific focus on fintech to create value at the level of the investments is innovative.

- Institution building and company development of the financial institutions FIVE will invest in through the hands-on approach that characterizes AfricInvest.
Financial inclusion
One of the main targets of the fund is to increase the quantity and quality of financial services offered to the local population and businesses.

Made possible through this investment

Thanks to the direct funding from BIO, the following second-line investments have been made possible.

InstaDeep

Tunisia

InstaDeep was founded in 2014 in Tunisia and has since grown to an established AI firm with more than 60 employees spread across its headquarters in London, and offices in Paris, Tunis, Nairobi and Lagos.

CFG Bank

Morocco

CFG is an investment bank offering brokerage, asset management and corporate financial services. It started delivering retail banking services in 2015 targeting mainly retail customers.

Prime Bank

Kenya

Prime Bank Ltd. is one of the leading Private Banks in Kenya and was founded in 1992. The bank is a mid-sized retail bank that caters to both individuals and corporate clients.