English
Français
An eventful second quarter for I&P and its partner funds! In this edition of our newsletter, you will find :
⇒ Focus on: the 9th Annual Entrepreneurs' Seminar, which brought together 60 African entrepreneurs;
English
Release of the Newsletter n°41, with an interview of the first two women fund managers of the IPDEV2 network
The Newsletter n°41 is available ! Contents:
⇒ Cross Interview with Maïmouna Baillet, Director of Sinergi, and Kim Kamarebe, Director of Inua Capital.
⇒ Meeting with Samy Chalier and Ando Randriamalalaharison of HERi Madagascar
⇒ A look back at the latest news from I&P's portfolio
⇒ Successful fundraising for Miarakap and Comoe Capital and more.
English
Interview with HERi Madagascar promoters
Created in 2012, and supported by I&P since last year through the I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE2) fund, HERi Madagascar is a company that specializes in the distribution and financing of solar energy solutions in rural areas of Madagascar.
English
Research on "Catalytic Capital": an interview with Alexis Thirouin for the C3 project
As part of a research project funded by the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3), I&P is analyzing its investment portfolio of more than 250 African small and medium-sized enterprises to identify how, when, and why to use catalytic capital, and how to evaluate the social and financial outcomes of these investments.
English
I&P selected as an Emeritus Manager in the ImpactAssets-50 2023 ranking
Selected for the ImpactAssets 50 ranking, I&P is pleased to join once again this year's "Emeritus Manager" category, which includes impact funds that have achieved IA 50 recognition for at least 5 years and have consistently demonstrated their commitment to generating positive impact.
I&P is positioning itself alongside other "Emeritus Managers" in 2023, such as ACCION International, Bamboo Capital Partners, Calvert Impact Capital, Capria Ventures, LeapFrog Investments and Root Capital.
English
So Fresh
Sector of activity: Agro-food
Status: Investissement en capital
Entrepreneur: Olagoke Balogun, Abimbola Balogun
Employees: 115
Country: Nigeria
A propos:
So Fresh is Nigeria’s pioneer and market leader in the healthy food Quick Service Restaurant space (serving notably salads, juices, smoothies, sandwiches, parfaits, etc.).
The company was founded in 2010, initially selling whole fruits and vegetables, and later evolved in 2013 with the introduction of healthy meals.
Today, So Fresh operates 15 outlets in Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja), and also offers delivery services to selected communities, through its website and social media channels.
The entrepreneurs
So Fresh was co-founded by Olagoke Balogun ("Goke") and Abimbola Balogun.
Olagoke Balogun is the CEO of So Fresh. He has accumulated a wealth of experience spanning some 20 years across several industries and functions including food & beverage, oil & gas, marketing, sales, production and operations. He is also a graduate of the Stanford SEED program.
Abimbola Balogun studied law and was called to the Nigerian bar in November 2006. She had a 5-year stint as a legal practitioner and now 10 years as an entrepreneur. She is a Human Resource professional, and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). She is a Goldman Sachs Scholar and has a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management.
Partnership with I&P
The partnership between SoFresh and I&P, through its fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2, aims to:
• Support with further expansion across Nigeria
• Enhance the ESG impact profile of the business
• Strengthen senior management
• Expand product offerings by introducing prepackaged meals sold through 3rd party vendors
•Support with marketing and brand management
Expected Impacts
• Providing decent direct employment opportunities, especially for women, with each new outlet opened
• Sourcing over 90% of inputs from local suppliers
• Reinforcing the company’ ESG strategy, and notably providing health insurance, transport allowance and housing allowance for all staff
• Providing Nigerians with healthy, quality and fresh meals
In portfolio since: 2022
IPAE2 and Adiwale Fund I invest in VRS Africa
Voltacars Rental Services (VRS), a full service car rental company operating in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, has secured a new round of financing from Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) and Adiwale Partners.
English
Our best wishes for 2023
We are pleased to share with you the first newsletter of this year 2023, including the latest news from I&P, its partner funds and portfolio. And we'll go into a little more detail about the launch of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a major initiative for our entire sector.
In this newsletter :
English
I&P publishes its Annual Impact Report
I&P is pleased to present its Annual Impact Report, that presents the collective results of our different programs and funds.
The report presents an overview of I&P's activities and impact methodology and goes through our six impact pillars : developing Africa entrepreneurship, creating decent jobs, providing SDG-aligned goods and services, promoting women's empowerment, strengthening the local economic fabric and fostering environmentally-friendly development.
English
« Ce fonds privé qui fait grandir les PME africaines » : An article from Anne Cheyvialle on I&P for Le Figaro
In this article from Le Figaro, Anne Cheyvialle describes the rise of the Burkinabe agricultural processing company Agroserv, now the leading player in the maize value chain in Burkina Faso and on its way to becoming one of the most important players in West Africa, and how I&P, through its various financing and support vehicles, has contributed to this growth.
English