French investor I&P says IPAE 2 fund ‘on track’ after €25-million second closing

French impact investment group Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) says its new fund is on track to raise between €80-million and €90-million after last week having made a second closing of €25-million.

I&P’s Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2) was launched in 2017, aims to invest equity and quasi-equity in between 30 to 40 startups and small businesses in West and Central Africa, East Africa and Madagascar by 2022.

In a statement last Tuesday (12 February), I&P said new investors had joined the fund, with the new closing. These include the Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO), the Dutch Good Growth Fund, Bpifrance, Crédit Coopératif, FPS Mirova Solidaire, and the World Bank’s International Association for Development (IDA).

The IPAE 2 fund aims to invest in 30 to 40 small businesses in West and Central Africa, as well as in East Africa and Madagascar by 2022

Other investors that have long been involved in the fund include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco, European Investment Bank, AXA Impact Fund and Société Générale.

“IPAE 2 is on track to reach its target size of between 80 and 90 million euros, and will complete a third and final closing by the end of the first half of 2019.

“It is now one of the largest more important in the field of impact funds dedicated to African SMEs ,” stated I&P.

The fund, I&P said, is managed by a 10-member team based in Paris, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Madagascar and Senegal.

Since its launch, the fund has invested in four African firms, including Senegalese classifieds platform CoinAfrique. Last November, I&P said the IPAE 2 fund’s investment ticket sizes can reach up to €3-million.

In IPAE 1 fund, which was launched in 2012, I&P invested in 29 African companies, with the investor announcing two exits last month.

Read more: French funder Investisseurs & Partenaires reveals stake it took in CoinAfrique, AMI