South Africa’s Convergence Partners has announced the acquisition of a strategic stake in 42Markets Group, an incubator, investor and builder of high-growth specialist businesses in the financial and capital markets sector.
Convergence Partners is a leading private equity investment manager focused on the technology sector in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 20-year history of investing successfully in digital infrastructure in the region.
The firm has more than US$600 million under management, including the recently launched Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund, which is focused on long term investments in data centres, fibre networks, wireless and towers, edge, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Thing (IoT), cloud and fintech and platforms across the continent. Convergence Partners’ team is located in offices in South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Paris and soon Kenya.
Its latest investment is in 42Markets Group, which is focused on the digital transformation and improved efficiency of capital markets in Africa. The business is well placed to enable second tier capital markets to improve their capabilities to reduce friction and costs, and improve transparency and real-time risk management, across a broad range of financial products, ultimately extending the reach of banking and financial services to a broader cross section of the population.
The introduction of Convergence Partners as new investors will enable 42Markets Group to accelerate growth through the buildout of its product set and further geographic expansion.
“Convergence Partners has been instrumental in Africa digitally leapfrogging the world through key investments in fibre and data infrastructure. Together, we will now do the same for financial markets, in connecting central banks and other big asset generators to corporate and retail investors, safely and accurately, across the full spectrum of capital markets solutions. In a very real sense, 42Markets companies are the “over-the-top” capital enablers, on the infrastructure that Convergence Partners has established. We are excited about working with them to bring real and sustainable change to markets,” said Andries Brink, group chief executive officer of 42Markets Group.
“We are thrilled with our investment in 42Markets Group, which reflects our unwavering dedication to fostering digital infrastructure expansion throughout Africa. 42Markets’ expertise in decentralized finance (DeFi), regtech and fintech, particularly in expanding global financial and capital markets to underserved regions aligns perfectly with our vision of utilising technology to bridge the digital divide and improve access for those in need. As blockchain adoption on the continent continues to grow, we look forward to embarking on this journey with 42Markets to democratise financial markets and enhance accessibility,” said Andile Ngcaba, chairman of Convergence Partners.
