DealMakers AFRICA
Janngo Capital has invested an undisclosed sum in Jobzyn, a Moroccan startup that uses artificial intelligence to transform the recruitment process. The platform combines automation, transparency, and AI to help companies find the right talent while helping candidates make better career decisions.
WaterEquity has made its first investment from the Water & Climate Resilience Fund, committing US$5 million to Savant Group, the parent company of Kenya’s SunCulture. SunCulture’s solar-powered water pumps offer an affordable alternative to diesel and manual water pumps. Designed for irrigation, the pumps are also used by more than 90% of customers to access groundwater for drinking, cooking, and cleaning – helping rural households meet daily water needs more reliably, efficiently, and sustainably. WaterEquity’s investment will enable SunCulture to scale its operations and deepen its impact – aiming to expand water access to millions of farmers and their families in rural Africa.
ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), a pan-African developer and operator of integrated industrial zones, announced the successful completion of US$700 million capital raise. The raise will see Vision Invest, a Saudi Arabian infrastructure investor and developer, join existing institutional shareholders, Africa Finance Corporation, Equitane and the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the development impact platform of Afreximbank. ATISE IIP was founded in Ghana in 2010 and has now expanded to more than 14 countries across Africa, deploying nearly US$2 billion in infrastructure and enabling over 50,000 jobs. The platform focuses on creating local value through the transformation of raw materials and import substitution.
International Lithium Corp (ILC) has acquired an option from Lepidico (Canada) to buy 100% of the shares of Lepidico (Mauritius) on a debt-free basis for consideration of C$975,000 plus certain payments in the future that are contingent on and linked to various possible receipts by Lepidico Canada. Lepidico Mauritius in turn owns 80% of Lepidico Chemicals Namibia which owns the Karibib Lithium, Rubidium and Cesium project in Namibia. The Karibib Project comprises two areas near Karibib, Namibia, with fully permitted mining licences known as Rubicon and Helikon along with an Exclusive Prospecting Licence EPL5439 for an adjacent area.
Mezzanine finance fund manager, Vantage Capital, has fully exited its investment in Equity Invest, a Moroccan group comprising six companies operating across various segments of the information technology space. The group’s business lines include electronic security, audiovisual multimedia systems, renewable energy, digital payments, e-commerce and hospital management software. Vantage provided Equity Invest with an €8 million mezzanine finance facility in October 2019. The funding enabled the founder, Mr. Ali Bettahi, to secure a controlling stake in one of the group’s flagship subsidiaries, Unisystem Group, by acquiring the shares that were held by a private equity investor. Under Mr. Bettahi’s ownership and with Vantage’s strategic support, the group has consolidated its position in Morocco and also expanded into new markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Helios Investment Partners has received preliminary approval, by the board of Telecom Egypt, of Helios’ binding offer to acquire a stake ranging from approximately 75% to 80% in a subsidiary that will own the Regional Data Hub (RDH) data centre assets of Telecom Egypt. The offer values 100% the RDH on a debt-free, cash-free basis at US$230 million, which could reach US$260 million subject to the achievement of certain KPIs. The RDH is a multi-phase data centre campus in Cairo. The first phase was launched in 2021 and provides approximately 2.5 MW of IT load; it reached full utilization within a year, and achieved multiple Uptime Institute Tier III certifications. RDH2 is designed for approximately 4.6 MW, received Uptime Institute Tier III Design Certification in November 2024, and is registered for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programme.
Nigeria’s Husk Power Systems has secured a ₦5 billion revolving, local currency debt facility from United Capital Infrastructure Fund (UCIF). The revolving facility is the first Naira-denominated debt instrument of its kind. The revolving loan has a tenure of 10 years, during which Husk expects to redeploy the capital twice. Initial deployments will be used to build out Husk’s standalone minigrid pipeline in Nigeria, with expansion plans to include interconnected minigrids (IMGs) and commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects.
South Africa’s HOSTAFRICA has entered the Tanzania market with the acquisition of Tanzanian web hosting company, Zesha for an undisclosed sum. Since its founding in 2016, HOSTAFRICA has established a strong presence in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Tanzania becomes the fifth country in HOSTAFRICA’s regional network.
DealMakers AFRICA is the continent’s quarterly M&A publication
www.dealmakersafrica.com
