Proparco invests $30m in AfricInvest

France's Proparco has made a $30 million investment in the first close of AfricInvest’s new multisector private equity fund to boost small and medium-sized enterprises in the continent. Proparco has invested in 15 of the manager’s 19 funds since 1997.

AfricInvest Fund IV aims to provide growth capital to mid and large cap businesses in Africa, with a focus on consumer-oriented sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods, agribusiness, healthcare, education, telecoms, logistics and distribution. The fund seeks to develop well-positioned local businesses into regional champions and will be the first completely pan-African fund of the group.