AfricInvest, a PE firm in Africa with $1.5bn in assets under management, and Cathay Innovation, the global venture capital fund, have created in affiliation with Cathay Capital Private Equity, have launched the "Cathay Africinvest Innovation" Fund, a Pan-African Venture Fund to connect the whole continent and the world's leading innovation ecosystems. According to Aziz Mebarek, Co-founder and Managing Partner of AfricInvest, “We are excited about the combination of experience, expertise and networks that will be delivered through this partnership between AfricInvest and Cathay, a world-class investor. Our combined objective is to provide support to a new generation of African companies in cutting-edge fields, with the ambition to grow them regionally and globally.” This partnership capitalizes on the pan-African presence of AfricInvest teams (with 8 offices over the continent) and their in-depth knowledge of the entrepreneurial networks across Africa, as well as the experience and depth of Cathay Innovation's global platform that connects the main technological ecosystems in Europe, China and the United States. The "Cathay Africinvest Innovation" Fund, with a projected size of 150 million euros, ($169m) will contribute to the development and scaling up of innovative companies that demonstrate strong growth in Africa while being open to international markets. The Fund team will provide selected companies with high value-added support by mobilizing its multidisciplinary expertise and networks within the various ecosystems in order to facilitate partnerships and accelerate their geographical expansion, with the aim of building up leaders in their respective sectors of activity. This Fund will help create high-tech jobs and make products and services accessible to millions of Africans. It will have a significant impact on the continent in terms of the development of skills and know-how, value creation and economic, financial and social inclusion with strong ambitions in terms of return on investment. The fund will contribute to removing barriers between African countries and with the world by creating and connecting new digital infrastructures and services. Mingpo Cai, Co-founder and Chairman of Cathay Innovation, added: "This partnership is based on shared vision and values, as well as ambitious objectives in terms of impact and return on investment. This Fund will also provide Cathay Innovation's portfolio companies with access to fast-growing African markets. We are convinced that this partnership will contribute to changing the financing and development of innovation in Africa.”
