Africa Capital Digest reported on the following $200 million-plus closes held by Africa-focused private capital funds during 2024. Timing-wise, they were equally split across both halves of the year, with several being the largest funds raised by their sponsors to date. Here they are, ranked by size.
1) African Infrastructure Investment Managers
Name: AIIF4 Amount raised: $748 million Asset Class: Infrastructure Private Equity
Stage: Final Close Closed: Q3, 2024
African Infrastructure Investment Managers won enough commitments from institutional investors in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East to raise $748 million, almost 50% more than its original $500 million goal. The fund’s investment team is building a portfolio of 10 to 14 infrastructure assets across sub-Saharan Africa, with a strong focus on opportunities in digital infrastructure, energy transition, and mobility and logistics.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: AIIM’s AIIF4 beats final goal by nearly 50%
2) Adenia Partners
Name: Adenia V Amount raised: $470 million Asset Class: Private Equity
Stage: Final Close Closed: Q2, 2024
Adenia V was the largest private equity fund raised last year. Adenia Partners‘ fundraising team, which originally set out to raise $400 million for the fund, met significant investor interest from LPs in the firm’s earlier funds as well as those new to the firm. The sector-agnostic fund’s strategy is to buy controlling stakes in profitable small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa, investing between $30 million and $50 million in each deal.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Adenia’s largest fund hits hard cap at final close
3) Partech Partners
Name: Partech Africa II Amount raised: €280 million Asset Class: Venture Capital
Stage: Final Close Closed: Q1, 2024
Partech Partners won capital commitments from more than 40 investors for its second Africa-focused venture fund. The Paris-headquartered firm’s fund strategy is to invest in more than 20 seed through Series C-stage startups that demonstrate rapid growth potential combined with a clear road map to profitability. Initial investments will range from $1 million to as much as $15 million in size.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Partech’s second Africa fund holds oversubscribed final close
4) Ninety One
Name: ACO III Amount raised: $260 million Asset Class: Private Credit
Stage: First Close Closed: Q4, 2024
Ninety One secured anchor commitments from some major institutional investors – British International Investment, the International Finance Corporation, and SIFEM – for its third Africa Credit Opportunities Fund (ACO III) in December last year. The fund will invest in private credit opportunities within market-leading companies and infrastructure projects across Africa and other emerging markets. Core to its strategy is a strong commitment to generating positive social and environmental outcomes.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Ninety One holds impressive first close for ACO Fund 3
5) Africa50
Name: Africa50 IAF Amount raised: $222.5 million Asset Class: Infrastructure Private Equity
Stage: First Close Closed: Q1, 2024
Africa50 raised capital from a group of predominantly African institutional investors to raise almost 50% of the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund’s (IAF) $500 million goal in time for its first close. The fund will invest in a wide range of infrastructure sectors, prioritizing those that contribute to sustainable, impactful growth. Opportunities in power, transport, ICT, midstream gas, health, and education assets and projects will be of particular interest. Each deal will be structured as an equity or quasi-equity transaction and fall in the $35 million to $50 million range.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Africa50 holds first close for Infrastructure Acceleration Fund
6) Inspired Evolution Investment Management
Name: IE III Amount raised: $222.3 million Asset Class: Infrastructure Private Equity
Stage: Second Close Closed: Q2 2024
Inspired Evolution Investment Management held a second close for the renewable energy investor’s third fund, garnering commitments for ten investors new to the firm. The close added $23.25 million to the $199 million raised in time for the fund’s first close, leaving the firm’s fundraising team $177 million to raise to hit their $400 million target.
The fund makes growth capital and infrastructure equity investments in renewable and sustainable energy assets across Africa, aiming to build a portfolio of 10 to 15 substantial minority or control investments in projects and businesses that support critical climate mitigation and energy transition strategies through decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Ten new investors back Inspired Evolution III’s second close
7) Metier
Name: MCGF III Amount raised: $219 million Asset Class: Private Equity
Stage: Final Close Closed: Q3, 2024
Metier‘s Capital Growth Fund III (MCGF III) held its final close at the beginning of the third quarter, garnering enough commitments from South African and international institutions to beat its final close goal by almost 10 percent.
The generalist private equity fund’s investment strategy is focused on equity and quasi-equity opportunities, with a particular emphasis on companies positioned to capitalize on Africa’s most significant growth trends. These trends include a burgeoning middle class driving consumer spending, technological innovations reshaping industries, rapid urbanization, infrastructure-led economic growth, and increasing intra-regional trade.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Metier wraps up fundraise, beating goal by 10%
8) Helios Investment Partners
Name: CLEAR Fund Amount raised: $200 million Asset Class: Private Equity
Stage: First Close Closed: Q3, 2024
The Climate, Energy Access, and Resilience Fund (CLEAR Fund), a climate impact fund sponsored by Helios Investment Partners, held its first close in August, raising $200 million or half its final $400 million goal from a group of 7 institutional investors.
The fund’s strategy is to make equity or quasi-equity investments in businesses that provide climate adaptation or mitigation solutions in Africa. The fund’s investment team will focus on deploying capital in five areas, namely green energy solutions, climate-smart agriculture and food, green mobility and logistics, recycling and resource efficiency, and digital and financial climate enablement.
Coverage in Africa Capital Digest: Helios’s climate impact fund lands $200mln at first close
That completes our summary of the 8 largest closes for Africa-focused private capital funds in 2024. To get full access to Africa Capital Digest’s news content and find out more about these and other funds, don’t forget to sign up for a membership today.
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