(INVESTISSEURS & PARTENAIRES) - The I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2) fund welcomes two new African companies to its portfolio, thus pursuing an active investment rhythm, less than two years after its launch. Fully in line with the fund’s mandate, these new investments will strengthen I&P’s footprint in Anglophone Africa and allow a first entry into Nigeria, monitored from I&P’s office in Ghana.

Two investments with strong impact, in line with IPAE 2’s mandate…
IPAE 2 aims to support more than thirty companies in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2022. The fund has recently reached its final size - €92 million ($102 million) – with a third and final roundtable including prestigious investors: the African Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and the fund France 2i, entrusted by the Fondation de France and managed by RAISE Impact.
IPAE 2 is a generalist fund that targets a large range of sectors that significantly contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): agri-business, health, construction industry, renewable energy, microfinance, industry, B2B products and services, etc. The new investments are fully in line with IPAE 2's mandate and investment strategy. They highlight sectoral and geographical diversity and have a strong impact potential in their local economies:
• New Crystal (Healthcare, Ghana): the company provides affordable and reliable health care services to the urban poor. New Crystal serves over 250,000 clients a year and has emerged as a national leader in this sector.
• Rensource (Energy, Nigeria): a distributed energy services company that delivers power to SME merchants in market clusters through ring-fenced, solar powered micro-utilities. Rensource is Nigeria’s fastest growing provider of off-grid power.

… Strengthening I&P’s footprint in Anglophone Africa with first entry into Nigeria
Although I&P is mostly active in Francophone Africa, the group has progressively developed its activities in anglophone Africa. The current I&P portfolio includes several investments in Anglophone countries (AMI in Kenya, Finance Trust Bank in Uganda, PEG Africa, Eden Tree and VRS Africa in Ghana). In 2016, I&P opened an office in Accra headed by Baafour Otu-Boateng. The local investment team was reinforced in 2018 with the recruitment of Francis Owusu.
Rensource is I&P’s first investment in Nigeria. Using the provision of solar-based micro-utilities as an entry point, Rensource develops and manages critical infrastructure that powers the productivity of SMEs. Investing in Rensource, alongside co-investors such as CRE Ventures, Omidyar Network, PROPARCO, Inspired Evolution and EDP, serves as a unique platform for I&P to enter Africa’s largest market. “We are excited to partner with the promoters behind New Crystal and Rensource, two pioneering enterprises that are aligned with the impact ethos of I&P,” says Baafour Otu-Boateng, Senior Investment Manager at I&P. “Our Ghana office has natural access to a robust deal pipeline from Nigeria, and we look forward to learning from and deploying our partnership model to support the SMEs in Nigeria that are vital to the country’s long-term economic growth.”

ABOUT INVESTISSEURS & PARTENAIRES
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is an impact investment group dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa, key players in sustainable and inclusive growth on the continent. Since its inception in 2002, I&P has invested in nearly 100 companies based in 16 African countries. These companies create local value and sustainable jobs, but also generate significant social, environmental and governance impacts. I&P is an active partner, that, in addition to a financial investor, brings its strategic, financial and management skills to accelerate the growth of its partner companies. Founded by Patrice Hoppenot and headed by Jean‐Michel Severino since 2011, I&P has around seventy employees in Paris and in seven African offices (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Niger and Senegal). Find out more about our activities, find us at: www.ietp.com