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Johannesburg - Agri-Vie, the private equity fund focused on food and agribusiness investments in sub-Saharan Africa, on Tuesday announced the final closure of its first fund, after attracting investments of about R770m.
The amount is 10% higher than anticipated.
Agri-Vie CEO Herman Marais said the over-subscription in the current economic climate demonstrated the appetite for such investments, resulting in the group already planning a follow-up fund.
“We anticipate launching a follow-on private equity fund with the same mandate to invest in food and agribusiness in Africa.
"Given the success we have seen, we would expect this fund to be larger in size and to also venture into central parts of Africa, as well as South and eastern Africa," he said.
Marais said Agri-Vie was establishing a presence in Nairobi, which would be its first permanent presence outside South Africa.
The fund, which was initiated by SP-aktif and Sanlam Private Equity, capitalises on the growing market for processed food in the major cities of Africa as well as export opportunities.
The fund has a base of strong blue-chip investors, with Sanlam Life, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation and the Kellogg Foundation already invested.
Agri-Vie also recently welcomed Norwegian development finance institution Norfund, the European Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, as new investors.
“Norfund is very pleased to have partnered with such a respected private equity partner in its efforts to contribute towards the development of competitive food and agribusinesses in Africa," it said.
“Of critical importance to us is the value that Agri-Vie places on making investments in SME (small and medium enterprise) businesses that have a meaningful impact on the regions in which they operate,” said Deepak Malik, Norfund head of financial institutions and funds.
Marais says about 30% of the fund has now been fully invested in a variety of businesses, mainly in East and South Africa.
