The potential of agribusiness in Africa is immense, the continent has 50% of the total unused fertile land in the world; about 450 million hectares1. Yet faced with the challenges of population growth, urbanization, climate change, industrialization and competition, the sector is struggling to emerge and structure its development.
In this interview, Kim and Maïmouna, respectively Managing Directors of Inua Capital and Sinergi, and the first two women fund managers in the IPDEV 2 network, talk about the challenges and opportunities they face in their roles and in their countries, the place of gender in private equity and their goals and visions for entrepreneurship.
2023 marks the 5th year of Miarakap's activity in Madagascar. Created in 2018 by Emmanuel Cotsoyannis with the support of fifteen investors including Société Générale Madagascar, Axian, BNI Madagascar, Adefi and Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), Miarakap has taken up the challenge of financing a new generation of ambitious and responsible entrepreneurs with high growth potential and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact.
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.
I&P, through its dedicated program I&P Development (IPDEV 2), is proud to take part in the launch of Inua Capital, a gender-lens and impact-focused investor that provides patient growth capital to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda.
From January, 31st to February, 3rd, I&P organized a regional meeting in Cotonou, Benin, for a training seminar aimed at strengthening the skills of stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem (accelerators, incubators, public and private intermediaries) and thus promote the development of an SME-friendly environment.
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 :
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.
The first investment of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (whose launch was announced last week) goes to Aruwa Capital Management, a gender-lens 20mUSD fund dedicated to Nigeria's SMEs, managed by a first-time woman-led fund manager.
I&P is proud to be part of an innovative and bold initiative for the investment industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: the USD$200 million Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a Fund of Funds which works through African investment vehicles to support early-stage, growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the continent.
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