The Week in Africa Finance

Plus: Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) arranges one of Africa's largest syndicated loans, Africa Remittance Markets and the Disruption Opportunities, Standard Chartered's €533 million of sustainable financing and other notable deals.

M & A

South Africa's FirstRand explores Banking Acquisition across Africa

FirstRand Ltd one of Africa's biggest lenders is exploring banking acquisition opportunities across the continent, particularly in countries where it operates according to Bloomberg. The company recently hired a new CEO and expects slower growth in corporate and retail loans this year. As the company looks to expand it will be targeting potential financial services acquisitions outside of traditional banking.

Remittance

Africa's $56 Billion Remittance Market Needs a Fintech Disruption

Remittances, the cross-border payments used by the African diaspora community to send money back home to their families and loved ones need disruption by our Fintech heroes. Read More

Corporate Debt

Cadbury Nigeria Plans $7.7million Debt-to-Equity Conversion

Cadbury Nigeria Plc the food, sweet and drink company has announced plans to convert an outstanding $7.7 million loan from its parent company Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Ltd into equity to reduce higher financing obligations due to the further devaluation of the Naira. Read More

Economics

Nigeria's Central Bank Settles Nearly $2 billion worth of FX Backlog

Nigeria's Central Bank has settled nearly $2 billion of outstanding foreign exchange liabilities including does due to foreign airlines. Read More

Industry-Specific Deals.

Consumer

• E3 Capital through its E3 Low Carbon Economy Fund (E3 LCEF I) has invested in Badili Africa a provider of affordable, quality refurbished smartphones from leading brands to consumers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, significantly reducing costs compared to new models. The seed round will be used to scale the business.
• Lapaire the Ivory Coast-based eyecare startup has secured US$3 million in equity funding to fuel its growth and expand across Africa. The funding round was led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), with participation from AAIC, FINCA Ventures and Beyond Capital. The investment will fund the company's expansion plans to open 300 new eye care centres across Africa.

Venture Capital

• EIB Global, a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank, has made a $30m investment which includes $20 million from the ACP Trust Fund and $10 million from the Boost Africa programme in the Seedstars Africa Ventures I fund.

Infrastructure

• Africa50 Group, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, has completed the first close of its Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (Africa50–IAF), with $222.5 million in commitments from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other African institutional investors.

Education

• Orcas the Egyptian online tutoring startup has been acquired by Baims, a leading Kuwaiti ed-tech company, in a strategic move to help the latter have a foothold in the growing US$100 billion education market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Sustainability

• Apis Partners the ESGI-native global private equity firm has secured a $40 million commitment for its Apis Growth Markets Fund III from British International Investment.
• Standard Chartered has arranged €533 million of sustainable financing backed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for Côte d’Ivoire. The agreed sustainable financing will provide capital for the country's 2021 – 2025 National Development Plan that will help accelerate its economic and social development in compliance with its Sustainable Framework.

Banking

• Amethis the Pan Africa Private Equity firm has acquired a majority stake in Capital Banking Solutions (CBS) a provider of a front-office wealth management solution.
• Cleva, the Nigerian-based banking platform offering USD account services for international payments, has secured $1.5m in pre-seed funding led by 1984 Ventures and other investors like The Raba Partnership, Byld Ventures, and FirstCheck Africa. 

Energy

• African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has arranged Nigeria's largest syndicated loan a US$3.3 billion crude oil prepayment facility sponsored by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). US$2.25 billion has already been disbursed. A second tranche of US$1.05 billion is expected to be disbursed subsequently. The Facility will enhance Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability and long-term economic growth.

People Moves

• Apis Partners, the private equity asset manager, has announced Maggie Abrahams as chief operating officer.

Week Ahead

• Jan. 17: Ghana's inflation figures for December 2023
• Jan. 17: South Africa retail figures for November 2023
• Jan. 19: Angola interest-rate decision

Thanks for reading the Africa Finance Review. Please send us your feedback, news or suggestions to info@africafinancereview.com. Please ask your friends and colleagues to subscribe.