The investment is announced twelve years after Proparco made its first investment in Maris Limited. This time, the support is aimed at helping start-ups active in the renewable energy and agriculture sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa.  

Proparco announced, Wednesday (June 8), a US$12 million investment in Maris Limited,  an impact investment holding company focused on Eastern and Southern African markets. The funds will be used to finance start-ups and SMEs in the renewable energy, agriculture, and business services sectors in those two regions.

“We are delighted to be working with Proparco again as we continue to build Maris and its diverse portfolio of businesses. We remain committed to supporting and scaling our existing portfolio of businesses, and will be looking to invest additional capital in more climate-aligned investments,” commented Maris’s CEO, Charlie Tryon.

“The investment also meets our sector objectives in renewable energy and agriculture,” said Françoise Lombard, Proparco’s CEO.

The transaction follows an initial investment by Proparco in Maris Limited in 2010. The new investment was made under the Fisea+ initiative, a program launched in 2009 to support African SMEs and startups.  Between 2009 and 2022, the investee (Maris Limited) built a portfolio of 20 SMEs in 11 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Its beneficiary countries include fragile states like Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Mozambique.

Chamberline MOKO