Investment in Francophone West African SMEs receives a €12.5m equity boost from African Development Bank

April 6th, 2019 – Investment in Francophone West Africa has just gotten a significant boost following the board of African Development Bank’s (ADB) approval of a €12.5 million equity investment in SMEs within the region.

The investment will contribute to Adiwale Fund 1, a PE fund targeting high-growth SMEs in Francophone West Africa with a target fund size of €75 million.

The Fund is coming on the back of the growing startup and SME activity in Francophone Africa, which still does not get as much attention as the Anglophone region. The average deal size for the Fund will range from €3 to €8 million.

Primary target countries are Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali while secondary target countries are Togo, Benin and Guinea. These countries are believed to be currently underserved by the global private equity (PE) market.

The fund will focus on three key sectors; consumer goods & services, business services (e.g transport, internet services etc) and manufacturing.

Written by Techpoint.Africa – https://techpoint.africa/2019/04/01/francophone-west-africa-fund/