Mastercard Foundation has launched a $200 million Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF) that targets early-stage, growth-oriented SMEs across Africa.
We’re proud to announce the launch of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a bold initiative that works through African fund managers to support early-stage, growth-oriented SMEs on the continent. Find out more about our mission on our website https://t.co/n2sxVfiLpO pic.twitter.com/EjJCOGUqCV
— Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (@africagrowthfnd) December 2, 2022
The fund will invest through different investment vehicles having already recruited two investment vehicles supporting entrepreneurial activity, one in East Africa and one in West Africa.
MasterCard Foundation is looking to address 2 key problems facing entrepreneurship in Africa:
- Under capitalization of African-led investment funds
- The lack of financing for African SMEs
According to the organization, African investment vehicles are typically considered high-risk while African SMEs struggle to access the financing they need to scale, inhibiting their potential. “This fund-of-funds will strengthen and empower a new crop of African investment vehicles to drive decent job creation for women and youth via investments in small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Dr. Dorothy Nyambi, president and CEO of MEDA.
Besides funding, the Africa Growth Fund will offer a business development facility for its portfolio companies while using gender-lens investing (GLI) principles to realize its objectives.
According to the fund’s Managing Director Samuel Akyianu, its main objective is to make investments that generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact while contributing to building a stronger and more vibrant African investment ecosystem.
“The MFAGF has built up a pipeline of 180 diverse investment vehicles, including Early-stage, Growth, Debt and Seed VC Funds and other non-traditional funds. Five have gone through the fund’s investment screening process, two female-led investment vehicles are past due diligence and said to have received a favorable investment decision.”
The fund has an investment committee made up of financial and investment experts drawn from various parts of Africa:
- Hamdiya Ismaila => General Manager at Venture Capital Trust Fund/Ghana
- Kanini Mutooni => Managing Director at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
- Dr. Frank Aswani => CEO of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA)
- Lumka Mlambo => Fund Principal at the South Africa SME Fund
- Mercy Mutua => Head of Access to Finance at the Mastercard Foundation
The Fund-of-Fund’s vision is implemented by a consortium of partners, including Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) and Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), Genesis Analytics, the Criterion Institute, and Africa Communications Media Group.
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