The BluePeak Private Capital Fund II aims to provide flexible credit solutions to Africa’s underserved mid-sized businesses, and has received backing from several European development finance institutions.
The BluePeak Private Capital Fund II has reached its first close, backed by a range of European development finance institutions (DFIs). The UK’s British International Investment (BII), Dutch development bank FMO, Sweden’s Swedfund and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) jointly invested $80m (€71.2m).
The impact-driven pan-African private credit fund aims to address the funding needs of mid-sized businesses, which have historically lacked access to traditional financing due to insufficient collateral or limited credit history, despite their potential to create jobs and provide essential services.
“Businesses in Africa need various types of financing to grow, but they often struggle to access funding, especially on flexible terms that meet their specific needs. That’s why we are delighted to collaborate with our European development counterparts as a consortium to support BluePeak’s Fund II and fuel the growth of private credit as an asset class,” said Chris Chijiutomi, managing director and head of Africa at BII, which invested $30m.
The joint investment will provide growth financing to empower businesses in Africa, and may serve as a model to attract more private capital if successful, according to Chijiutomi.
Gender inclusion
The BluePeak fund will focus on investments in strategic industries that are capable of growing their local value chains such as food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, industrial packaging, and financial services. It will also strongly focus on gender inclusion.
Swedfund’s $20m investment supports its goal of reducing poverty because it allows businesses to grow sustainably and boost access to essential services and capital, according to Jakob Larsson, senior investment manager at the Swedish development finance institution.
“We invest to increase financial inclusion and strengthen the private sector’s ability to create jobs, especially for women and young people,” Larsson said.
Mobilising capital
Walid Cherif, managing partner at BluePeak, said the joint investment by four European DFIs was “a strong vote of confidence” in the firm’s strategy to combine performance with impact.
Founded in 2019, BluePeak Private Capital is an alternative asset management firm dedicated to small and medium-sized growth companies across diverse markets. Its main aim is to mobilise capital to plug financing gaps for businesses ready to scale. To date, the firm has raised $240m in capital, which has supported eight portfolio companies in 25 African countries.
“Raising Fund II in less than four years since the first close of Fund I is a testament to sustained investor confidence driven by continued value creation and strategic positioning in the market,” Cherif said.
Annemarie van Duijn, manager private equity global funds at FMO, which invested $15m, said there is an obvious funding gap for businesses that seek to retain their ownership, but still need growth financing for expansion.
“Through this partnership, we not only address this gap, but also strengthen our private capital strategy at FMO by collaborating with an experienced local partner capable of financing sustainable and inclusive growth across Africa,” she said.
“Investing in resilient, growth-oriented businesses is essential to driving long-term economic development,” said Anthony Mwangi Njoroge, principal and co-head Africa fund of funds at responsAbility, SIFEM’s portfolio manager. SIFEM invested $15m in the consortium.
