The Swiss investor’s commitments adds to those already made in the fund by a number of other development finance institutions.
The Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) which acts as Switzerland’s development finance institution, has committed $20m to Apis Growth Markets Fund III (AGMF III). The fund focuses on growth-stage investments in the financial services sectors of Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, according to responsAbility Investments, SIFEM’s portfolio manager.
AGMF III is a private equity fund managed by London-based Apis Partners, which manages or advises on total assets under management of $2.3bn (€2.1bn). The fund, originally targeting a total size of $500m, has already attracted commitments from a number of institutional investors. These include the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, Germany’s DEG, Norfund and Swedfund.
Apis plans to deploy the fund to extend the work done by its previous AGMF vehicles by investing in tech-driven financial services companies that further financial inclusion. SIFEM also invested in the first AGMF fund in 2015.
Boosting financial access
Investments made by AGMF III aim to support solutions such as cashless payments, embedded finance, and digital lending to help overcome structural barriers to financial access for underserved populations operating outside the formal economy. As such, the fund seeks to contribute to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals on SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 10: Overcoming Inequalities.
ResponsAbility said the AGMF III strategy aligns with SIFEM’s mission to promote sustainable economic growth, job creation and market development in the developing world.
“SIFEM’s commitment to AGMF III underscores our confidence in Apis Partners’ ability to generate both financial returns and measurable social impact,” said Ralph Keitel, responsAbility’s head of fund of funds.
AGMF III has invested via a co-investment structure with Apis Global Growth Fund III (AGGF III), a strategy which responsAbility said allows a more catalytic approach to developing financial resources where they are most needed.
In early December, Apis announced the completion of a $55m funding round for KPay, a Hong Kong-based financial management platform, which was co-led by AGFM III and AGGF III. The transaction was the world’s largest Series A round in the payments sector in 2024, according to Apis.
KPay provides a one-stop platform offering financial, operational and digital solutions for merchants. It has grown to serve 45,000 merchants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan since it was founded in 2020. Apis said the investment would accelerate growth of KPay’s existing operations and also provide the basis for its expansion plans across Asia.
Further SIFEM investments
SIFEM has been a highly active investor in recent months, for example acting as an anchor partner for the third vehicle in Ninety One’s emerging market-focused credit opportunities (ACO) strategy, which closed in November having raised $260m.
Among other activities, the DFI also invested in an Africa-focused climate fund managed by Helios Investment Partners, which reached a first close of £200m (€235m) in August, as well as SPE Capital’s SPE Private Equity Fund III (SPE PEF III), targeting North African SMEs, which had amassed a total of $140m of commitments by its first close in June.
