Hello,
Welcome to a cross-section of updates and resources from the Impact sector from the last two weeks. This edition consists mainly of fund closes spanning the capital stack, Ninety One's $404 million private credit close, fresh DFI anchor capital for infrastructure and mid-market equity in Nigeria and North Africa, and growth-stage raises for CardinaStone, Edge Growth, and Yellow. Add a relaunched grant fund for evidence-driven innovation, and it's a reminder that capital is flowing into Africa's impact sector through nearly every instrument available.
Financing & Investing
▶ Ninety One has closed its Africa Credit Opportunities Fund 3 (ACO3) at $404 million, including leverage, the third vintage in its Emerging Market Senior Credit series, with commitments from DFIs, pension funds, and family offices spanning Africa, Europe, the UK, US, and Canada. The fund has already built a diversified portfolio of over 30 senior secured private credit investments, bringing total capital raised across the series to $815 million and deployment past $1.4 billion.
▶ AFC Capital Partners has launched the Infrastructure Climate-Resilient Fund Nigeria (ICRF Nigeria), a SEC-registered closed-end fund designed to channel capital from Nigerian pension funds, insurers, and asset managers into climate-resilient infrastructure. It forms part of AFC's broader $750 million ICRF vehicle, anchored by a $253 million first-loss commitment from the Green Climate Fund, its largest equity investment in Africa to date, with AFC targeting up to $3.7 billion in total financing across 10 to 12 infrastructure projects.
▶ Edge Growth has launched the Edge Impact Fund with a R350 million first close, providing catalytic debt and hybrid capital, including term loans, venture debt, and revenue-based finance, to technology-enabled scale-ups in South Africa and select African markets. Backed by two major local financial institutions and led by an all-women management team, the fund targets businesses with R20 million or more in annual revenue across fintech, health tech, education, and green technology, and is aiming for a R750 million final close by December 2027.
▶ CardinalStone Capital Advisers has reached a $76 million first close for its CCA Growth Fund II, targeting SME investment opportunities across Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal. The close drew returning investors IFC, BII, and SCM Capital alongside new backers including the Dutch Good Growth Fund and several Nigerian pension funds, reflecting growing domestic institutional participation in West African private equity.
▶ Off-grid solar and pay-as-you-go asset finance platform Yellow has closed its Series C round, led by Convergence Partners with participation from Susquehanna Sustainable Investments. Since its Series B, the company has surpassed 1 million customers across 7 African markets, driven by more than 100% year-over-year growth in its smartphone financing business, and will use the new capital to expand geographically and scale its distribution and asset management infrastructure.
▶ RMBV North Africa Fund III (NAF III) has drawn its fifth DFI anchor, with the African Development Bank and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti committing $35 million in joint equity to the mid-market growth fund targeting Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The commitment adds to a DFI syndicate already anchored by EBRD ($80 million) and EIB ($80 million), with Proparco also on board, moving RMBV's first independently raised fund closer to its $300 million target.
Opportunities
▶ The DIV Fund (Development Innovation Ventures) is a rolling, tiered grant fund for evidence-driven innovations that improve lives in low- and middle-income countries, newly relaunched as an independent nonprofit backed by over $48 million in philanthropic funding, including from GiveWell, after being spun out of USAID's former DIV programme. It is open to nonprofits, social enterprises, startups, private-sector firms, universities, and consortia operating in low- and middle-income countries, including across Africa, across three tiers: Stage 1 Pilots (up to $200K), Stage 2 Testing & Positioning for Scale ($200K–$1.5M), and Stage 3 Scale (up to $5M); applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with the fund weighing evidence of impact and cost-effectiveness above polish.
Contact: [email protected]
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