AfDB approves $15m equity investment for SMEs in Nigeria, Anglophone West Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it has approved $15 million for equity investment in Verod Capital Growth Fund III, a private equity fund for investments in high growth small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Anglophone West African countries.

The bank said in a statement on its website that the investment was approved by its Board of Directors for SMEs in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.

AfDB said the investment is targeted at companies in consumer driven sectors including light industrials, fast moving consumer goods, education, financial services and agro processing.

The bank’s Director of Industrial and Trade Development, Abdu Mukhtar stated: The Fund’s investments will be in companies in consumer driven sectors including light industrials, fast moving consumer goods, education, financial services and agro processing. The ticket size for each investment will be between US$ 5 million and US$ 20 million.

“The Fund will help accelerate investments in small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the West African region. This is key to job and wealth creation, knowledge transfer and scaling up of local businesses. The Fund will provide an important vehicle to growing SMEs in Africa, which are a key pillar to the continent’s industrialization drive.”

The statement further noted: “Verod Capital Growth Fund III will have a direct and measurable impact on individual businesses in West Africa while improving their ability to expand thereby providing benefits in terms of government revenue and job creation to the countries’ domestic economies. This is in line with the Bank’s Private Sector Strategy of supporting projects that have a strong impact on job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation.

“Verod Capital Partners, the Fund manager, is an experienced indigenous private equity firm with extensive knowledge of the Anglophone West Africa market. It also possesses a strong record of accomplishment in SME investments. Since 2008, Verod Capital Partners has invested in 16 SME companies in the region.”