Investment firm Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has announced it has invested in two African tech startups, the first disbursements made from its EUR50 million (US$59 million) IPAE 2 fund.
Launched in 2002, I&P is committed to contributing to the rise of a sustainable and dynamic private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. It announced the first close of the IPAE 2 fund, which invests in small and medium sized businesses in Africa that combine economic profitability with societal impact, in December of last year.
The fund has now made its first investments. Alongside pan-African food flavour development company Afribon, I&P has also invested in the Kenya-based African Management Initiative (AMI) and Senegalese fintech startup CoinAfrique.
Workplace learning company AMI, which launched in 2014, blends online and in-person training to reach 20,000 people in 11 African countries, while CoinAfrique, a mobile platform launched in 2015, allows users to buy and sell products within the community of users. AMI will use the funding to expand its reach in existing markets and move into new ones, while CoinAfrique will strengthen local sales teams in the markets in which it operates.
“More and more we meet companies such as Afribon, AMI or CoinAfrique, aiming for multi-country expansion. Besides, African companies are increasingly integrating new technologies into their service offering or business model,” said Jérémy Hajdenberg, chief investment officer at I&P.
With a target size of EUR80 million (US$92.4 million) – a second closing between EUR70 million (US$80.8 million) and EUR75 million (US$86.6 million) will be announced by the end of 2018) – IPAE 2 aims to invest in between 30 and 40 startups and SMEs over the next five years in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West and Central Africa, but also in East Africa and Madagascar. IPAE 2 is a generalist fund that supports companies operating in various sectors.
