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Newsletter n°23 | October 2018

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

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I&P Développement 2 (IPDEV 2) reached its final closing and totalizes an investment capacity of €21 million. This second closing brings together seven new investors, including the African Development Bank, BNP Paribas, Ceniarth, and Soros Economic Development Fund

Stefan NALLETAMBY
Director for the Financial Sector Development Department
at the African Development Bank

"The African Development Bank is pleased to support the promising adventure of IPDEV 2. This is the first impact investment project of this kind supported by our institution and it is fully in line with our mandate: to support the development of a dynamic private sector, by improving access to financial services, developing efficient financial markets and deepening regional integration.

Supporting High-Potential Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Africa is one of our priorities, and they represent the core target of the IPDEV 2 program. More than 500 SMEs will be financed thanks to the program, with the creation of 15,000 jobs as a result.

African investment teams, sponsored and supported by IPDEV 2, will be at work to identify, finance and support these young companies. Thanks to this innovative and pioneering mechanism, IPDEV 2 makes it possible to strengthen African investment capacities in the private equity sector and paves the way to extend the reach of impact investing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even more importantly, IPDEV 2 makes it possible to raise funds from financial institutions and local private sector operators, which is a significant demonstration effect. We are convinced that this initiative will encourage new actors to engage in the path of SME financing, so critical to the development of the continent!"

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IPDEV 2 reaches its final closing and accelerates the launch of
10 impact funds on the African continent

Press Conference, Abidjan, October 16.From left to right: Issa Sidibé (Comoé Capital), Marie-Laure Akin Oglubade, J.-M. Severino (I&P), Benoît Lagente (Proparco) and David Munnich (I&P)

Since its launch three years ago, IPDEV 2 has already sponsored five African impact funds : Teranga Capital in Senegal, Comoé Capital in Côte d’Ivoire, Miarakap in Madagascar, Sinergi Burkina in Burkina Faso and Sinergi Niger in Niger. Together these funds have financed 27 early-stage SMEs, in equity and seed funding, and have raised €15 million from African co-investors.

IPDEV 2 will sponsor another five impact funds in the coming years in Sub-Saharan Africa, including one in Mali. IPDEV 2 partners with each impact fund manager by bringing capital, tools, coaching and a network of African and international mentors, investors and entrepreneurs. IPDEV 2 will be selecting 5 additional committed and talented first-time investment teams to manage these funds.

The last team seminar (October 2018) gathered more than 50 team members, based in Paris and in I&P's 7 African offices, whose staff numbers are growing rapidly: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Niger and Senegal.

Some changes regarding IPAE investment team: Sidy Niang moves to Senegal, the office in Ouagadougou is now led by Landry Parkouda, and Francis Owusu joins the office in Ghana!

I&P held its first General Assemblies on the African continent, gathering about twenty investors who had the opportunity to visit several companies of IPAE 1, IPAE 2 and IPDEV 2 (Comoé Capital) portfolios.

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There are new arrivals in the IPDEV 2 team: Mamadou Ndao joins the team after spending 3 years in Dakar for IPAE. The team also welcomes Yacine Simporé, Investment Officer.

I&P and the Government of Monaco are collaborating to launch an impact fund dedicated to education in Africa. Tom Dilly, recruited as an International Monegasque Volunteer, is in charge of conducting an analytical study prior to the creation of the fund.

From September 18 to 20, I&P Conseil and the Ferdi organized the second edition of their formation on impact investing, gathering about twenty participants from very diverse backgrounds.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ PORTRAIT ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Anne Merieme and Julien Guige

AFRIBON
Country: Pan-African
Sector: Agro-Industry

The company AFRIBON, specialized in the creation and marketing of food flavours, is one of the first investments of the fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2).

Created in 2012 by Julien Guige and Anne Merienne, AFRIBON is currently the only company to produce locally and offer a tailor-made service to its customers, including notably manufacturers of beverages, biscuits and dairy products.

Markets are still fragmented and the way of doing business differs greatly from one country to another. Even the tastes of the customers are very different: a taste that is appreciated in Uganda may not necessarily be appreciated in Tanzania, for example. It is therefore difficult to replicate a model from one country to another.

Read the Interview

▬▬▬▬ NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS ▬▬▬▬

More than 70 entrepreneurs were gathered in Abidjan for the 7th annual training seminar, on the following topic: "Financial issues and Financial Management".

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The Senegalese clinic NEST get ISO 9001-2015 certified, aknowledging the quality of its services " Patient Reception, Orientation, Consultations, Hospitalizations and Follow-up".
Read more

Neurotech received the CISCO Award for Best Software Partner. The company also get ISO certification (ISO 9001) for its management System.

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▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ NEW INVESTMENTS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The fund IPAE 2 carries out its first invesments and welcomes in its portfolio:

AFRIBON, specialized in the development, production and marketing of food flavors. Created in 2012, the group comprises five production sites, in Cameroon and East Africa

African Management Initiative (AMI), launched in 2014, is pioneering a scalable approach to workplace learning for Africa, blending online and in-person training to reach 20,000 people in 11 African countries.

CoinAfrique, a mobile platform launched in 2015, designed to easily sell and buy products within the community of users

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ANALYSIS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Publication of the 5th and last chapter of "Fifteen Years, Fifteen Lessons from Africa": I&P's Impact lessons

For years, I&P was doing "impact investment" without knowing it. Starting in 2012, a more rigorous approach to analyzing and quantifying these impacts was introduced, as the impact investing sector was itself coming into being. Over time I&P has become one of the premier actors in Africa involved in a management and impact measurement approach. This chapter discusses the key lessons related to these issues:

•Lesson n°13: Measuring impact on the ground only makes sense to better manage it
•Lesson n°14: Developing an ESG approach is possible and necessary, even for SMEs in Africa, provided a long-term partnership is established
•Lesson n°15: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present both a great opportunity to develop the impact investment sector in Africa, and a challenge to measure concrete contributions.

Click Here to Access the document

I&P and several impact investing actors are committed to fighting "impact washing"!

On October 12, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) released a document entitled ''Operating Principles for Impact Management". The objective: support the growth of the impact investing market while ensuring the integrity of its players. The Principles are intended to be a reference point for investors for the design and implementation of their impact management systems.

I&P also takes a step to fight the risk of "impact washing" associated with the growth of the industry and drafted an article entitled "There is no such thing as impact, but only proof of impact". The first part of the article is available on the blog "Making Finance Work for Africa". The second part, published mid-november, will provide more details on the best ways to integrate impact into investment projects.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ AGENDA ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

►Paris, October 30-31: The GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network) organises its bi-annual Investor Forum for the first time in France.

►South Africa, November: J.-M. Severino will participate to the African Investment Forum, organized by the African Development Bank.

►Paris, November 8: J. Hajdenberg will intervene to the Africa Investment Forum & Awards, an event dedicated to business opportunities in Africa.

►Marseille, November 16-18: Several team members will participate to the second edition of the Social Buiness Camp, organized by the French Development Agency.

►Poland, November 29-30: O. Lafourcade will participate to EVPA's 14th annual conference, in a session entitled "Invest for impact or invest with impact?"

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ WHAT'S NEW AT I&P? ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬