Proparco has recently invested in making SA Taxi's fleet of vehicles safer on South Africa's roads
- France’s development finance agency Proparco has lent US$10 million in local currency to SA Taxi Development Finance Proprietary Limited, a subsidiary of Transaction Capital Limited. SA Taxi is one of South Africa’s leading providers of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) minibus taxi financing. The loan will help the company maintain its growth and put new and safer vehicles on the road to service millions of commuters who rely daily on minibus transport.
- Growthpoint Investec African Properties (GIAP), a joint venture launched by Investec Asset Management and Growthpoint Properties in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), began operations earlier this month. GIAP will invest in real estate assets across the African continent on the basis of these assets’ ability to support long-term rental growth from top-tier tenants so as to develop local African real estate markets. The venture received US$50 million from Growthpoint as part of a total of more than US$212 million from its combined partners.
- IFC has also signed an agreement with Kosovo’s Ministry of Trade and Industry to develop the country’s business environment by simplifying inspections procedures and giving investors easier and more effective access to the market. The agreement is a component of the corporation’s Climate Project in Kosovo, which seeks to free up competition while cutting the cost of compliance.
- Swedfund, a development finance institution owned by the Swedish government, has issued a seven-year, subordinated loan of US$5 million to Kenya’s Victoria Commercial Bank for on-lending to SMEs. A portion of the funds will allow the bank to track its borrowers’ environmental impacts and monitor the working conditions of its employees.
- Telkom Kenya, in which Helios Investment Partners holds a majority stake, will sell up to 723 of its towers to the American Tower Company. The move aims to free up capital needed to invest in the telecom firm’s 4G network. Telkom Kenya has invested around US$55.9 million in modernising its network to date, and is in line to receive a US$40 million loan from the European Investment Bank to improve its infrastructure and mobile money products.
- Dutch development bank FMO, Triodos Investment Management and The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have provided a €31.6 million long-term loan to finance the construction of the first solar power plant in Mongolia, at Sainshand in the Gobi Desert, 460 kilometres southeast of the capital Ulaanbaatar.
- Dutch company LC Packaging B.V., a bulk container specialist, has established a plastic recycling start-up in Bangladesh, together with its local partners. The start-up firm, GreenBANGLA Recycling, purchases and recycles plastic waste before processing it for further use. The scheme was co-financed by DEG, the German development finance institution, and includes funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
- Shares in Libstar Holdings, the South African food and personal care business mostly owned by The Abraaj Group, have begun trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The firm sold stock at the lower end of its price range, though managed to raise US$238 million. In April, Libstar announced its plan to raise US$124 million through an initial public offering in order to repay some of its debt and expand its capacity.
- One Thousand & One Voices (1K1V), a private family capital fund backed solely by industry-leading families around the world, has announced its first investment in the education sector in Africa. The fund has invested an undisclosed sum in Higher Ed Partners South Africa (HEPSA), a leading online education firm based in Johannesburg. HEPSA provides online programmes management services to leading tertiary educational institutions in South Africa, converting on-campus degree programmes into online courses.
- Sanari Capital has led a Series B round funding of US$1.2 million in Sensor Networks for new-product development. Other investors include the ASISA ESD Fund, along with Series A investors, 4Di Capital. The Internet of Things (IoT) growth firm reduces customer risk for the insurance sector by providing insurers with smart sensors to integrate with their products so as to build more effective predictive analytics.