News and developments on African capital markets: African securities, African stock exchanges, African equities, African bonds, African private equity/venture capital, and African social impact investment. Twitter @africancapital, LinkedIn African Securities Exchanges group.
U.S. development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), is to invest up to $285 million in financing to private equity funds. These in turn should raise more than $875m, representing the largest commitment by the U.S. Government to impact investing in emerging markets.
Morocco’s Casablanca Stock Exchange is offering grants to small and medium enterprises to encourage them to raise capital. The first listing of 2011 was 8.7x over-subscribed.
IFC on 8 March announced it was investing $10 million in equity in Catalyst Fund I LLC. The fund aims to stimulate employment and accelerate economic growth across East Africa by improving access to equity financing for emerging and mid-size companies.
Jacana, a UK-based group that supports emerging SME private equity firms in Africa, has launched its second investment, a strategic partnership with Ghanaian fund manager Fidelity Capital Partners Limited.