Press release -
Swedfund strengthens support for African companies
Swedfund invests EUR 20 million in Amethis Fund III, which is an African fund to further support the development of the private sector in Africa. The fund will help create new jobs and tax revenues through its investments across the African continent.
Swedfund is a relatively small player with only two offices in Africa. Therefore, it is important that Swedfund can find good partners in the form of funds that have a large network around the entire African continent.
- The investment in Amethis Fund III means that we can reach many more companies that in turn can develop and reach out to more people around the African continent, says Audrey Obara, Regional Director at Swedfund in East Africa.
The Fund exercises active ownership with a clear focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and works to develop work in several areas, including women's economic empowerment, growth of more jobs with decent work and access to essential products and services, and local economic development.
About the fund
Amethis, an established fund manager, has built a team of good regional and sectoral expertise in four locations across Africa, working closely with its investee companies to strengthen their business, build resilient management teams and increase efficiency, contributing to sustainable private sector development. Amethis Fund III follows the same investment strategy as Amethis Fund II by providing growth capital to African medium-sized companies. The size of the investment will be between €25 and €40 million, sometimes more in the case of co-investments. Amethis, as an active shareholder, will support entrepreneurs by giving them access to Amethis' international network and external growth opportunities, while enhancing their efficiency and governance.
Topics
About Swedfund
Swedfund is Sweden's development finance institution with the mission to contribute to poverty reduction through sustainable investments in developing countries. Our investments in the private sector contribute to a growing number of jobs offering decent working conditions and increases access to essential products and services like electricity and healthcare. Climate and gender are themes that permeates our investment process.
Swedfund invests in energy & climate, financial inclusion and increased access to capital for micro, small and medium-sized companies as well as healthcare and digitalization.
We are part of Swedish development corporation, and we measure and report all our results. As a state-owned company, Swedfund is managed by the Ministry of Finance. We are financed through reflows from the portfolio and capital injections from the development assistance budget. The return from the portfolio finances our operations and we reinvest reflows from our portfolio in new projects, i.e. we recycle our capital injections.
For more information: please visit www.swedfund.se/en| www.edfi.eu
