DealMakers AFRICA

Fintech platform, Kaleidofin, has closed Kenya’s first private-sector local currency securitisation in the smallholder agriculture sector, in partnership with Apollo Agriculture and with investment from the IDH Farmfit Fund. The transaction mobilised KES276 million (approximately US$2,5 million) through the securitisation of receivables originated by Apollo Agriculture, covering a portfolio of 23,839 smallholder farmers, 51% of whom are women, with an average loan size of KES 17,942 and approximately 22% first-time borrowers. Structured through Kaleidofin’s ki platform, a dedicated debt capital market infrastructure, the transaction enables the conversion of granular agricultural loans into investable assets for institutional investors.

Botswana-listed, African multinational financial services group, Letshego Africa, has announced the sale of 100% of the issued share capital of five of its East and West African subsidiaries to Axian Digital Venture Holdings and Management Limited. The subsidiaries, Letshego Ghana Savings and Loans PLC; Letshego Faidika Bank Tanzania Limited; Letshego Microfinance Bank Nigeria Limited; Letshego Rwanda PLC Limited and Letshego Uganda Limited were sold to the UAE-based company for an undisclosed sum.

Nigeria’s BFREE, a Pan-African debt recovery and distressed credit investor, has secured new funding aimed at expanding its ability to purchase bad loan portfolios from banks and digital lenders across Africa. The funding round was led by AfricInvest through its Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE) and also included Algebra Ventures and existing investors Capria Ventures, VestedWorld, Axian CVC, Angaza Capital, and 4Di Capital.

Trafigura Pte Ltd. has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Egyptian Aluminium Company (Egyptalum) and the Metallurgical Industries Holding Company (MIH) to develop a new primary aluminium smelter in Egypt. The trio intend to establish a newly-incorporated company that will construct, own and operate a 300,000 tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter, alongside a 150,000 tonne per annum anode plant, at Egyptalum’s Nag Hammadi complex. The new facilities would nearly double the site’s current annual production capacity. Trafigura will participate as a minority equity investor in the new company, as well as a debt provider and long-term offtake and feedstock supply counterparty. Total investment costs for the project are estimated at between US$750 million and $900 million.

The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, a US$4 million pilot investment facility managed by Village Capital with funding from the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), has announced its first two investments in Ghana. The Facility is investing in Rivia Clinics, a tech-enabled primary healthcare startup ($200,000), and VDL Fulfilment, an e-commerce logistics platform built for African SMEs ($150,000), both based in Accra.

The Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) has committed a US$40 million senior secured loan to support the development of Egypt’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility. The $212,4 million project will be located in Egypt’s Sokhna Special Economic Zone and developed by Green Sky Capital Limited and its local subsidiary, SAF Fly Egypt. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce 200,000 tonnes per year of biofuels, including SAF, hydrotreated vegetable oil, bio-propane and bio-naphtha. Additional financing was provided by Qatar National Bank, through its Egyptian subsidiary, with a commitment of up to US$31,4 million, and by The Arab Energy Fund, which contributed $71,4 million.

DealMakers AFRICA is the continent’s quarterly M&A publication
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