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Le site d'informations financières Reuteurs est revenu cette semaine sur l'enthousiasme soulevé par les opportunités d'affaires ouvertes en Côte d'Ivoire, 3 ans seulement après la crise politique que le pays a traversé. I&P, qui vient d'ouvrir un bureau à Abidjan,  était cité comme l'un de ces investisseurs enthousiastes, encouragé par la volonté d'emergence du pays, les réformes libérales entreprises par Alassane Outtara ainsi que le haut niveau d'éducation qui sont toutes autant de variables en faveur du développement.

L'article a mentionné non seulement les deux importants chantiers d'Investisseurs & Partenaires que sont les deux levées de fonds, l'une de 50 millions d'euros en association avec Schneider Electric pour l'accès à l'énergie sur le continent, la seconde de 100 millions d'euros pour financer les petites infrastructures africaines ; mais également le succès fulgurant du partenariat avec la plateforme de crowdfunding Kiva qui a permis à l'une de nos entreprises en portefeuille, CDS, de lever 15 000 € en à peine 30h.

JM Severino a souligné la marge de 10% de rentabilité qu'I&P se donnait comme ligne directrice sur les projets d'investissement en infrastructures locales, moitié moins que le bénéfice net de la majorité des investisseurs de ce secteur : "Un tant soit peu plus que cette marge, et nous serions dans le même segment que le capital-investissement traditionnel. Mais en permettant à nos investisseurs de se fixer sur cette base de profit minimum, nous leur assurons un impact social maximum."

(Reuters) - Three years after disputed elections led to bloodshed, Ivory Coast has emerged as one of the most exciting opportunities for private equity investors in Africa, with a dynamic workforce keen to put a decade of turmoil behind it, a senior investor said on Friday.

Jean-Michel Severino, chairman of Paris-based Investisseurs & Partenaires, said its two funds totaling 65 million euros aimed to provide investors with returns of up to 10 percent a year while fostering social development in Africa.

With interest in private equity in Africa booming, Severino said his firm was launching two new funds: a 50 million euro venture with Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA) for power projects and a 100 million euro vehicle for small infrastructure development.

I&P's traditionnal deals are based around a 10% profitability "Any more than that and we'd be in the same space as traditional private equity. But to allow our investors to settle for this lower return, we have to ensure them a social impact."

Severino cited the Kiva (www.kiva.org) site which allows people to lend small amounts of money to entrepreneurs in over 70 countries. Since 2005, it has crowd-funded more than 1 million loans - providing half a billion dollars - at a repayment rate of 99 percent.

CDS, a Mauritanian firm building rural water and energy installations in which I&P hold 40 percent, used Kiva to raise nearly 15,000 euros of funding in just one day. 

(Editing by Toby Chopra)

Read Newsletter N°5 / April 2014

Edito : Joan Bardeletti, author of Les Grands Moyens                  "I am a photojournalist, and passionate about the African continent. I find a way to express myself and investigate through images; my shootings enable me to access unknown and arcane environments; for me, it is a way to get scientific samples: I am not looking for an exhaustive picture; I dig deep and try to crack the codes of some uncommon aspects of Africa. It can take some months, sometimes some years, and I always try to be guided by experts, sociologists or economists.

The partnership that I have with Investisseurs&Partenaires* is one of this kind. I&P and I want to explore the African continent through its entrepreneurs. While Africa is undergoing a fast-expanding development, and while a middle-class is now emerging, entrepreneurship is at the core of these evolutions.

“Les Grands Moyens”is the name of the project. It refers to the size of the companies that we are targetting: small or medium sized companies which are locally founded or managed.

“Les Grands Moyens” underlines the energy, the perseverance and the creativity demonstrated by these entrepreneurs in their struggle to emerge, to grow, to recruit, to train and to produce.

Finally “Les Grands Moyens” stands for the stunning confidence of these entrepreneurs: sure, there is a long way to go and it is not the easy one; sure, they are ambitious; sure, the African market is booming and so many things still need to start from scratch; sure, we do not see them as small actors but as blossomed people who are about to be part of this global market.

Within this approach, and beyond this short depiction, we focus most of all on the impacts generated by these companies on their clients, their employees, the local population and many others. In a nutshell, the pictures, the films and the recordings we are getting will hopefully, show how these companies stand as driving forces for the continent’s development."

* and the AFD and Proparco and CFAO

Watch the slideshow of Joan Bardeletti's shooting in Mauritania

Watch the first movie about CDS

Lire La newsletter N°5 / Avril 2014

Edito de Joan Bardeletti, auteur du projet "Les Grands Moyens"

"Je suis photojournaliste, passioné par l'Afrique. Mon moyen d'expression et d'enquête est l'image ; mes reportages me permettent d'accéder à des milieux souvent clos, méconnus ; ce sont pour moi des vues en coupes : plutôt que de chercher à produire une vision panoramique, je creuse et décrypte pendant plusieurs mois voire plusieurs années, accompagné de spécialistes, de sociologues ou d’économistes, un aspect peu commun de cette Afrique.

C'est ce type de démarche qu'Investisseurs & Partenaires* et moi-même avons imaginé et mettons en oeuvre en ce moment afin d'explorer le continent africain au travers de ses entreprises. Alors que l'Afrique évolue à vitesse accélérée, qu'une classe moyenne émerge, l'entreprenariat est en effet au coeur de ces changements;

"Les Grands Moyens", c'est le nom du projet, fait référence à la taille des entreprises au coeur de notre démarche: Moyennes ou Petites, ce sont les PME qui nous intéressent particulièrement, fondées ou dirigées par des Africains.

"Les Grands Moyens" font référence à l'énergie, l'obstination, la créativité que ces entreprises mettent en oeuvre pour émerger, grandir, recruter, former, produire.

"Les Grands Moyens", enfin, c'est l'absence de complexe de ces entrepreneurs : oui, ils partent souvent de loin et le contexte n'est pas simple, oui, ils sont ambitieux, oui, le marché africain est porteur et tant de choses sont à inventer, oui nous ne les voyons pas comme des petits mais comme des acteurs en passe d'être pleinement intégrés dans un marché mondial.

 Dans cette démarche, au delà de la description, nous nous focalisons surtout sur l'impact de ces entreprises sur leur clients, salariés, les populations locales et les différentes partie prenantes; en somme, les photographies, films, témoignages qui sont produites présentent de façon concrète et palpable de quelle manière ces entreprises sont un accélérateur de développement pour le continent."

………………………………………

*Un projet mis en oeuvre également avec le soutien de l'AFD, Proparco et le groupe CFAO.

Regarder le diaporama des photos de Joan Bardeletti en Mauritanie

Regarder le premier film sur CDS

Investisseurs & Partenaires took part this week to the 5^th anniversary of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs in London. This meeting was the occasion to gather around more than 100 participants. Olivier Lafourcade, Chairman of I&P’s board was among the guests to accompany the ANDE through this milestone celebration.

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in emerging markets. ANDE members provide critical financial, educational, and business support services to small and growing businesses (SGBs) based on the conviction that SGBs will create jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth, and produce environmental and social benefits.  Ultimately, ANDE believes that SGBs can help lift countries out of poverty. ANDE is part of the Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization.

In 5 years, the ANDE has achieved

• More than 1200 individuals participating in working groups on topics such as Women's Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Agriculture and Metrics & Research
• $2.1 million granted to 39 projects through ANDE's Capacity Development Fund
• Over $250,000 in scholarships to attend ANDE events
• 2000+ individuals have participated in ANDE events all over the world
• 6 Regional Chapters have been established in Brazil, Central American & Mexico, East Africa, India, South Africa, West Africa and our newly forming East and Southeast Asia Chapter (2014)!

Jean-Michel Severino was in Brussels this April 1^st for the 5^th EU-Africa Business Forum, in a preemptive meeting to the Vth Africa-Eu summit held in Brussels this week. The forum gathers over 500 participants, among which a few high representatives of the EU such as Antonio Tajani, EU Comission Vice-President and Commisionners Andris Pielsbags and Karel De Gucht, all three hosts of the forum.

This forum is a demonstration of the growing interest of political leaders in the African private sector, a key partner in the strife for the continent’s development. It stands as a unique opportunity to feed key partnerships between government officials, business leaders and private sector organizations. A particular stress is, for that matter, put on African SMEs, now clearly identified as essential driving forces of development.

Jean-Michel Severino intervened upon the EU-Africa Investors Meeting, presenting I&P within the framework of this development dynamic.

 Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)  just released on Kiva, a webplatform for participative finance, a funding campaign for CDS, a Mauritanian company in IPDEV’s portfolio since 2010 and managed by Sidi Khalifou.

I&P has partnered with Kiva, the US-based crowdfunding pioneer, to raise a $15,000 loan that will enable CDS to provide Wouloumbouni village located at the Senegalese border, with solar-powered water pumps to replace the current oil-powered ones.

These pumps will allow CDS to offer uninterrupted access to water to Wouloumbouni villagers at affordable prices, uncorrelated with the price of oil/fuel. It is also a more sustainable and eco-friendly solution. CDS’s mission consists in promoting access to water and energy for all.

As a fast expanding financial field, impact investment is particularly adaptable to complementary tools, such as crowdfunding. Through this innovative partnership with Kiva and CDS, I&P is even more committed to promote a new generation of African entrepreneurs who will contribute to the emergence of a sustainable and dynamic private sector on the continent.

Learn more on I&P and Kiva’s partnership

Financial Afrik and Cridem (Carrefour de la République Islamique De Mauritanie) covered the project

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) vient de mettre en ligne sur la plateforme de finance participative Kiva l’appel à financement de CDS, entreprise mauritanienne en portefeuille IPDEV depuis 2010 et dirigée par Sidi Khalifou.

I&P a noué un partenariat avec ce pionnier de la finance participative aux Etats-Unis afin de lever 15,000 USD qui permettront à CDS d’équiper le village de Wouloumbouni, à la frontière sénégalaise, en pompes à eau fonctionnant à base d’énergie solaire. Ces pompes viendront en remplacement des pompes actuelles qui fonctionnent actuellement au gasoil.

Ce projet participe à accroître les impacts de CDS qui s’est donné pour mission de favoriser l’accès à l’eau et l’énergie pour tous. Cette nouvelle solution permettra d’affranchir les habitants de Wouloumbouni du prix du gasoil sur lequel était indexé celui de l’eau ainsi que des fréquentes pannes et pénuries. Elle est également beaucoup plus durable et plus respectueuse de l’environnement. 

A travers Kiva et CDS, I&P poursuit son engagement pour l’émergence d’une nouvelle génération d’entrepreneurs et innove au service de l’impact investment.

En savoir plus sur le partenariat I&P – Kiva

Financial Afrik et le Carrefour de la République Islamique De Mauritanie ont relayé l'information.

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Béchir Malum's works will be exhibited on next April 1st to 15th at the Espace Van Gogh in Arles. His paintings will be exhibited as well as some of the photographs he shot in the companies of I&P's portfolio. Mauritanian artist Oumar Laball will share the event, in a joint introduction to Mauritanian art held by the Club des Jumelages d'Arles-Sagné.

 Le photographe et artiste-peintre Béchir Malum sera au centre d'une exposition à l’espace Van Gogh d’Arles du 1^er au 15 avril prochains. Seront exposées ses peintures mais également une série de photographies sélectionnées parmi celles prises lors de ses visites aux entrepreneurs I&P.

Le peintre mauritanien Oumar Laball sera aux côtés de Béchir Malum pour incarner le terrain artistique mauritanien, thème de cette manifestation culturelle organisée par le Club des Jumelages d’Arles-Sagné.

For the first time, I&P partners with Kiva, the American crowdfunding web platform.

Over the past decade, Africa has experienced unprecedented growth, with 5-6% growth rate at the continent level. However, this growth remains heterogeneous, fragile, insufficient and unevenly distributed. Small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) are at the core of the African economic fabric; they are the largest contributors to job creation and are key actors for political and social stability. However, most of these SMEs lack access to the necessary funding that will fuel their growth. Since 2002, I&P has supported more than 45 companies in over 13 African countries, contributing to create and retain more than 1,400 jobs.

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) considers crowdfunding, this participative finance tool, as complementary to its existing financial instruments. I&P has decided to partner with Kiva, the US-based crowdfunding pioneer, which has raised more than $500 million from 1.2 million internet users since its inception in 2005. The Kiva web platform brings together thousands of individuals and micro-borrowers in order to help them start or expand their businesses or finance a personal project, contributing to alleviate poverty across the world.

The pilot is a project by CDS, a Mauritanian company in the IPDEV portfolio since 2009. It will be online on www.kiva.org for funding next week. With this innovation, I&P continues to drive its mission of promoting a new generation of African entrepreneurs who will contribute to the emergence of a sustainable and dynamic private sector on the continent. 

The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) of which I&P is a member, today releases the report Social Impact Strategies for Banks- Venture Philanthropy and Social Investment. The report, written with the support of the London Business School, provides the first comprehensive guide as to how European banks are currently active in venture philanthropy, social investment and impact investment.  The report addresses the current and potential role of banks within the social investment marketplace; how banks are currently engaging with VP and SI; what the drivers, challenges, and benefits are for engaging as well as practical strategies for getting more involved.

The report builds on existing research on related topics, provides insightful and in-depth case studies from a selected group of pioneers in a variety of European countries (Bank Degroof, Belgium; Banque de Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Deutsche Bank, UK; BBVA, Spain; BNP Paribas Wealth Management, France; JP Morgan Social Finance, UK; Erste Bank/Foundation, Austria; Triodos Bank, Holland; UBS Wealth Management, Switzerland), and extends the analysis to other European banks with relevant initiatives.

Read the report