I&P Celebrates 2nd Investment And Opening Of New Office In Ghana

On the occasion of CEO Jean-Michel Severino's visit to Accra, I&P organized a launch event to mark the opening of its new office and the announcement of its second investment in Ghana. The opening of the new office demonstrates I&P's commitment to strengthening its footprint in Anglophone Africa.

I&P, A LEADING PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR IN AFRICAN SMES, STRENGTHENS FOOTPRINT IN ANGLOPHONE AFRICA

Over the past 13 years, I&P has invested in close to 60 businesses in Africa across sectors as varied as agribusiness, construction, microfinance, pharmaceuticals and services. With 65 million euros under management in its 2 investment funds (IPDEV and IPAE), I&P invests and works in partnership with SMEs to fulfill its mission of promoting a new generation of African entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the launch event, Jean-Michel Severino, a former Vice President at The World Bank and former CEO of Agence Française de Développement, remarked that “Ghana is a major West African country with a solid track record of growth, however, as is the case across all of Africa, SMEs here need more support to emerge and thrive. I&P can bring to the Ghanaian market its successful experience of investing in 60 SMEs across the continent, but we can also learn a lot in this dynamic market, that will benefit our network of portfolio companies.”

Since its inception, I&P has funded 3 companies based in Anglophone Africa, in Namibia, Kenya and Uganda. Ghana is the first Anglophone country where I&P has opened an office.

FROM 2 INVESTMENTS NOW, GHANA'S PORTFOLIO WILL GROW UP TO 6 TO 7 INVESTEES BY 2017

For the past 3 years, I&P has worked in Ghana towards building a significant SME investment portfolio. The new local office is headed by Baafour Otu-Boateng, Investment Manager, whose background combines investment banking experience at UBS Investment Bank in New York with on-the-ground expertise building enterprises at TechnoServe in Ghana.

Currently, I&P's portfolio in Ghana counts 2 investee companies: Voltacars Rental Services and Eden Tree. Voltacars Rental Services (VRS) is a long-term rental service company. The company was founded in 2003 and now manages a fleet of 120 vehicles as a highly-competitive partner for multinational firms such as Total and Tigo. For over 15 years, Eden Tree Ltd has been the leading independent provider of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in Ghana, relying on a network of over 375 out grower farming families. This investment has been approved by I&P Investment Committee and is currently being closed.

The I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE) fund targets 4 to 5 new investments in Ghana by 2017. IPAE is a private equity fund whose investments range from 300 000 euros to 1.5 million euros as an active, minority shareholder. IPAE is an impact investor seeking to partner with talented Ghanaian entrepreneurs to drive the strong, sustainable and responsible growth of their businesses.

About Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)
Investisseurs & Partenaires is a family of investment funds created in 2002 by Patrice Hoppenot, and has been headed since 2011 by Jean-Michel Severino. I&P's goal is to support the development of responsible and profitable African SMEs. These enterprises create local “added value” and long-term employment, and generate important social, environmental and governance impact.

To fulfill its mission, I&P manages two financial vehicles (IPDEV and IPAE), and uses diverse financial instruments (minority equity participation, quasi-equity, loans, etc.) to invest in companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

I&P provides capital, technical and strategic support to meet the growth needs of its portfolio companies. The I&P team develops long term partnerships with entrepreneurs, sharing management expertise and knowledge that is useful for improving business strategy, structuring, and success.

The I&P team comprises fifteen collaborators in Paris and in its six African offices in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Madagascar.

To learn more about our activities, please follow us on: www.ietp.com