Adlevo Capital Managers (www.adlevocapital.com) announced on 10 June that it has completed the first closing of Adlevo Capital Africa LLC fund with capital commitments of US$52 million. The fund will make expansion capital investments into companies with technology-enabled business models across sub-Saharan Africa.
The fund has received capital commitments from development finance institutions and private institutional investors based in Europe, South Africa and the US. Adlevo Capital plans to hold additional closings for the fund over the next nine months with a final closing in the first quarter of 2011.
Yemi Lalude, founder and Managing Partner of Adlevo Capital, says in a press release: “We are very pleased to have attracted investments from several of the most successful Africa fund investors who, like us, see the growing scope for compelling technology-enabled company investments and believe that investments in this area will also provide positive social development outcomes. The Adlevo Capital team has developed a pipeline of attractive investment opportunities and is looking forward to commencing investments and working with the management teams of its portfolio companies.”
Adlevo Capital, a Mauritius-based fund manager, is the first private equity firm focused on investments into technology-enabled companies across multiple African countries. It aims to capitalize on growing investment opportunities in the technology-enabled service segments of multiple industry sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.
Its founders have a combination of private equity and operational IT experience in Africa and the United States. Through this and an extensive network of relationships, as well as offices in Lagos and Johannesburg, it aims to add significant value to portfolio companies.
In October 2008, the European Investment Bank (www.eib.org) announced it would be lead investor, committing $20 million. EIB said CDC Group (www.cdcgroup.com), the UK government-owned fund of funds, would join as the other lead investor with a commitment of $15 million.
At the time, in a press release Plutarchos Sakellaris, EIB Vice President responsible for lending operations in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions said: “This is a landmark project for the EIB and for the African technology sector. We are confident that Adlevo’s experienced management will build a portfolio of investments which provide strategic support for technology companies. Moreover, we hope that this operation will act as a catalyst to develop private equity and foreign direct investment in the region.”