- UK development finance institution CDC and independent power producer Globeleq are backing Malindi Solar Group with US$66 million in debt financing. Malindi Solar Group is expected to build a 52 megawatt-peak solar photovoltaic power plant in southeast Kenya. CDC will be the majority stakeholder in the project.
- XSML, a fund manager that operates in central and east Africa, has made its latest investment in Uganda with TMR International Hospital (TMR), a general hospital that specialises in maternity healthcare, emergency relief and ear, nose and throat treatment. TMR Hospital is XSML’s seventh investment in Uganda and the twentieth investment for its African Rivers Fund, which is now 72 percent committed.
- Google has launched a programme to mentor Indian start-ups. The information services firm created its Launchpad Accelerator with the aim of helping start-ups use artificial intelligence and machine learning to build and scale their products. Google plans to invest US$20 million annually in building startups around the globe and has mentored 600-650 Indian startups since 2015.
- Online learning start-up Byju’s is in discussions with new and existing investors led by Tencent Holdings to raise funds of more than US$150 million. Byju’s is seeking a valuation of US$1.8 to US$2 billion in this latest round, marking an increase from its previous round valuation of roughly US$1 billion.
- Anglo American Platinum (Amplat) has created an internal fund with investments US$200 million in a new venture capital fund to stimulate industrial demand for platinum group metals. The South African state pension fund, Public Investment Corp (PIC), is a partner in the fund with a US$100 million investment in the new firm, AP Ventures, which will take over from Amplats’ Anglo Platinum Marketing Ltd.
- New Delhi-based global telecommunication firm Bharti Airtel and private equity firm Warburg Pincus are discussing a capital raise of US$1.5 billion by divesting up to 15 percent from its Africa-focussed holding company, Bharti Airtel International. A listing could follow this strategy in order to help Bharti Airtel repay some of its debt and insulate against market competition in India.
- Switzerland’s Partners Group and South African private equity firm, Convergence Partners, have joined forces to support the launch of a new private markets firm, Helical Capital Partners. Helical Capital Partners’ South African operations will be based in Johannesburg. Principals Craig Beney and Carlos Ferreira will lead the firm’s activities. The firm will also focus on investing across private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure and private debt.
- KfW Development Bank has announced its total financing commitments for 2017 reached €9.7 billion, up from €8.8 billion in 2016. Of this total, KfW committed €8.2 billion, while its private arm DEG committed €1.6 billion. The activities of KfW and DEG toegther span 531 projects in developing countries and emerging economies. Key regions include sub-Saharan Africa, north Africa and the Middle East, which together accounted for €3.7 billion of the total funding in 2017.