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Promoting a new generation of African entrepreneurs is at the heart of I&P's mandate. We have developed a rigorous methodology to measure and monitor the impacts of our partner companies. We are also committed to promote African entrepreneurship and we regularly develop advocacy projects to amplify our impact.
Our impact objectives
I&P supports initiatives with a strong social impact on the real economy, mainly in poor and fragile countries on the African continent, and partners with responsible companies that promote inclusive growth and have a strong potential for impact on their local stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers and distributors, the State…
Our impact strategy is based on six key pillars: entrepreneurship, employment, gender, acces to basic goods and services, the local economic fabric, and the environment. Through these commitments, I&P and its partners meet the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
#1 • Developing African entrepreneurship
#2 • Creating decent jobs
#3 • Providing SDG-aligned goods and services
#4 • Promoting women's empowerment
#5 • Strenghtening the local economic fabric
#6 • Fostering environmentally-friendly development
Impact Pillar #1
DEVELOPING AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Promoting a new generation of African entrepreneurs is at the heart of I&P's mandate. 80% of portfolio companies are managed by African entrepreneurs.
I&P mainly focuses on French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa (West Africa, Indian Ocean, Central Africa) where financing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises are much less developed than in English-speaking Africa.
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
10. b Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
Impact Pillar #2
CREATING DECENT JOBS
The context
Formal small and medium-sized enterprises are pillars of job creation, but are too few on the African continent. The stakes are high: 450 million Africans will enter the labour market by 2050. Each year only 3 million formal jobs are created despite the arrival of 10 to 12 million young people on the labour market.
A large majority (almost 90%) of employment in Africa is provided by an informal sector that is low in productivity and insufficiently structured to absorb new entrants on the labor market.
Our strategy
I&P supports SMEs that have a strong job creation potential, while simultaneously helping to improve the quality of these jobs.
Formal jobs maintained through productivity investments or formal jobs created result in higher-paying and more secure jobs, providing access to training, social security, social protections and a « regular salary ». The average minimum wage paid by I&P’s partner companies is 53% higher than the average minimum legal wage in their respective countries
Going deeper
In October 2019, I&P published a report on the challenges and impacts of SME formalization in Sub-Saharan Africa. This report is based on two field studies in which several employees of our partner companies in Madagascar and Senegal were interviewed.
Discover the report
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
Impact Pillar #3
PROVIDING SDG-ALIGNED GOODS AND SERVICES
Addressing the main development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa is at the heart of I&P’s mission. The vast majority of our investees improve local access to essential goods or services, in close alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Example: Agroserv Industrie (Sinergi Burkina) is a maize processing company that produces grits and flour. The company bought 15,000 tons of maize from small producers in 2019. Read more
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Example: Procréa (IPAE 2) offers quality healthcare for women and children. The company held 5,346 gynecological consultations in 2019. Read more
Goal 4: Quality Education
In 2020, 8,788 students were enrolled in schools or training programs in 2019 thanks to 7 investees in I&P’s portfolios, AMI (IPAE 2), ENKO (IPAE 1) and CAIF, Etudesk, IMHG, IST and Vatel (IPDEV 2).
Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Example: Delta Irrigation (IPAE 1) saves water thanks to efficient irrigation systems. 1,000 hectares of land have been irrigated thanks to Delta’s solutions. Read more
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
Example: PEG Africa (IPAE 1) supplies off-grid solar panels in West African rural and semi-urban areas. PEG installed 23,044 new solar kits for underserved rural household in 2019. Read more
Impact Pillar #4
PROMOTING WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
I&P’s overall objective is to promote gender equality within formal SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa. We seek to proactively develop a pipeline of SMEs that address the specific needs of women, focus on women’s inclusion, empower women in decision-making processes, and provide them access to decent jobs and training opportunities.
I&P formally announced its gender strategy in the document “Opportunities to bridge the gender gap in African SMEs”, published in 2018. Anchored in I&P’s mission, the gender strategy seeks to promote gender equality among its portfolio companies in Africa, as well as to lead by example, demonstrating a gender-diverse governance and promoting mixed teams and women’s equal access to senior leadership and investment positions.
Read more about I&P's gender strategy
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking in political, economic and public life
Impact Pillar #5
STRENGHTENING THE LOCAL ECONOMIC FABRIC
The companies supported by I&P contribute to strengthening important local networks, thereby generating new opportunities for small suppliers and distributors in the countries where they operate.
SMEs build local networks of subcontractors. The ripple effects are particularly strong in the agricultural sector, where 16,766 smallholder farmers contracted with agribusiness companies.
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
17.1 Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
Impact Pillar #6
FOSTERING ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY DEVELOPMENT
I&P is promoting sustainable growth through investment in resource-efficient companies with limited carbon footprints. We believe that our partner companies can play an active role in experiencing and sharing replicable, efficient and renewable energy solutions.
I&P seeks to partner with companies that provide services that improve environmental impact (green technology, energy efficiency, waste management…) and that promote sustainable use of natural resources (fishing, forestry and agriculture).
We help companies mitigate potential negative impacts by implementing sound environmental management systems.
I&P calculates the carbon footprint of IPAE’s portfolio annually to identify the main sources of emissions. In 2019, its footprint amounted to 14,796 tCO2eq.
Focus on the relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.B Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
Measuring and monitoring impact
I&P has implemented a rigorous methodology to measure and monitor the impacts of its partner companies.
I&P publishes since 2020 an annual impact report, that presents an aggregate picture of the collective results of our mission across the entire organization and team.
The report presents an overview of I&P's activities and impact methodology and goes through our six impact pillars.
In addition, I&P releases annually the ESG & Impact reports of its funds under management.
Further documentation
I&P has published a presentation summarizing its general approach to taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into account. This presentation includes our policy on integrating sustainability risks into investment processes, our due diligence policy on the negative impact of investment decisions on ESG factors, and the integration of ESG risks into its remuneration policy.
I&P also publishes an annual report under Article 29 of the French Energy and Climate Law.
Our advocacy mission
I&P has adopted a proactive advocacy policy to promote the recognition of SMEs as vectors of change and the implementation of appropriate financing solutions in Africa.
Our objectives
Stimulating entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and promote a new generation of men and women entrepreneurs on the continent
Fostering the growth of private equity in Africa, a relevant financing solution for SMEs
Mobilizing financial resources and contributing to the development of impact investing in Africa and the world
Publications
I&P regularly publishes studies and reports addressing concrete issues related to its expertise: impact investing, SME mentoring, private equity....
Publication
ARTICLES & BLOG
The team of I&P regularly shares its experience and best practices in the areas of impact investing and African entrepreneurship with specialized media and blogs.
Zoom: our blog Entreprenante Afrique
I&P launched with the Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development (FERDI).the blog "Enterprenante Afrique", to promote entrepreneurial dynamism in sub-Saharan Africa and better understand the context in which African entrepreneurs are working.
The blog gathers research articles, experience sharing and field testimonies on African businesses.
