Asset manager Enko Capital raised $100 million in the first close of an expected $150 million fund that aims to provide US dollar-denominated private credit to companies across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Africa-focused firm manages $1.3 billion in assets. The focus of its new fund is on “cash-generating businesses” in agriculture, telecommunications, manufacturing, renewable energy, and financial services, it said in a statement. The UK’s development finance body, British International Investment, was the anchor investor for the first close, with Mauritius-headquartered SICOM Global Fund also investing. The fund is capped at $200 million, Enko said.
Founded in 2008, Enko is co-owned by Cameroonian businessman Alain Nkontchou and his brother Cyrille. In August, Alain’s private investment vehicle Bosquet Investments acquired a 21% stake in pan-African banking group Ecobank from South Africa’s Nedbank for $100 million. Enko also acquired the Mauritanian unit of Société Générale bank in the same month.