The Mastercard Africa Growth Fund has made a big announcement on the substantial investments totaling $27 million that it has made in three prominent investment businesses.
These firms are Chui Ventures, VestedWorld, and SME Impact Fund. This move is a key step toward bolstering impact investment in Africa.
It is a significant step forward in the process of expanding impact-driven projects on the continent because Chui Ventures receives $9 million from the fund, VestedWorld receives $10 million, and SME Impact Fund is allocated $8 million. With this most recent infusion of funding, the total number of recipients who have received assistance from the Africa Growth Fund has reached five beneficiaries.
Prior to this, the Mastercard Africa Growth Fund had already made significant investments, including a distribution of $2.2 million to Aruwa Capital Management and $5 million to Inua Capital. The mission of Aruwa Capital, an investment firm that was founded in 2019 and is run by women, is to provide assistance to female entrepreneurs and enterprises that are geared toward meeting the requirements of women. The company has made investments in a number of different businesses, some of which are Fastizers, CrowdForce, Taeillo, Pngme, and Lifestores Pharmacy.
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The Africa Growth Fund is a fund of funds with a total value of $200 million that was established in December 2022 with the intention of bridging the financing gap that exists in the impact investment landscape of Africa. The fund offers its portfolio firms a variety of services, including business development services, fund advisory, communications support, and diversity and inclusion consulting. It is supported by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), ESPartners (ESP), Criterion Institute, Genesis Analysis, and Africa Communications Group.
A statement made by Samuel Akyianu, the Managing Director of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, expressed his excitement regarding the latest investments. He said, “We are excited to welcome Chui Ventures, Vested World, and SME Impact Fund to our expanding family of investment vehicles.” Together, these strategic relationships are a manifestation of our unwavering dedication to promoting sustainable development in Africa by means of investments that have a significant impact.
When it comes to investments in Tanzania’s agricultural industry, the Tanzanian fund manager known as SME Impact Fund specializes in the field. With 44 investments totaling more than $15 million, the fund has reached out to 23,000 smallholder farmers in Tanzania, which has resulted in the creation of more than 3,000 jobs.
Through these contributions, Mastercard demonstrates its dedication to promoting positive change in Africa by providing assistance for initiatives that have a significant impact and by boosting sustainable development across a variety of industries.