The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the leading development institution focused on the private sector in emerging countries, announced on Monday (July 12th) that it had invested USD 25 billion in the pan-African fund Vantage Mezzanine IV.
This investment is primarily intended to support companies based in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt and other African countries engaged in job-creating sectors. This is particularly in the fields of health, tourism, manufacturing, information and communication technologies (ICT) and telecommunications.
“This investment is a boost to this important alternative source of growth capital for African mid-sized companies,” said Warren van der Merwe, Managing Partner of Vantage.
For his part, Kevin Njiraini, IFC Regional Director for Africa said: “Vantage Mezzanine IV will play an important role in providing underserved midsize businesses with an alternative form of growth capital in the nascent credit space. private sector and mezzanine financing in Africa ”.
He added, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made this type of financing more necessary and important, as banks are increasingly risk averse, often preferring to lend to large corporations. ”
Africa accounts for only about 4% of total private credit funds raised for emerging markets, according to data from EMPEA, the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets.
