The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News the past week

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Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories the past week on Africa Private Equity News.

1. Metier Capital Growth Fund III invests in South African maize miller

Private equity firm Metier, through its Capital Growth Fund III, has made an investment into Blinkwater Meule, a vertically integrated maize meal producer and retailer in South Africa.

Blinkwater manufactures maize meal products exclusively under its own brands to meet the nutritional needs of millions of consumers predominantly residing in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo regions in South Africa. The business was established in 1995 by the Van den Berg family and has a unique distribution network, which includes its own logistics solution to about 325 corporate-owned retail stores in informal areas and independent wholesalers in the north-eastern provinces of South Africa. Read the full article

2. PE firm CDG Invest Growth backs Moroccan retailer

Private equity firm CDG Invest Growth, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Fipar Holding, have announced an investment in Retail Holding, a Moroccan-based food and consumer goods retailer.

IFC, Fipar Holding (an investment fund managed by CDG Invest) and CDG Invest Growth (through its fund under management Capmezzanine III) will jointly own a 21.5% stake in Retail Holding, alongside its historical shareholders, Best Financière and Sanam Group. Read the full article

3. First close for Endeavor South Africa’s Harvest Fund III

Endeavor South Africa’s Harvest Fund III has secured first close commitments of R190 million (c. $10.8 million).

The fund, which has a target of R500 million (c. $28.4 million), will invest in tech-related companies across the African continent.

Major investors in the fund include Standard Bank, Allan Gray, and the SA SME Fund. The first close coincides with the final investment of the R190 million Harvest Fund II, which has made 19 investments in 17 companies. Read the full article

4. XSML Capital fund secures DFC commitment

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has approved and committed a $13 million equity investment in the African Rivers Fund IV (ARF IV), managed by XSML Capital.

ARF IV will support small and medium-sized businesses in frontier markets in Central and East Africa, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. Read the full article

5. First close for TLG Capital-backed Nigeria debt fund

TLG Capital and Nigeria’s FCMB Asset Management have announced the first close of N10.4 billion (c. $6.4 million) in Series 1 of their N100 billion (c. $61.7 million) FCMB-TLG Private Debt Fund.

Zain Latif, principal at TLG Capital said in a LinkedIn post, "This marks the first-ever local currency private debt fund in the country with 17 investors subscribing across the Nigeria ecosystem and attracting some of the best known pension fund administrators in the country. Read the full article

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