South African investment firm Summit Africa launched its new fund the Summit’s Private Equity Fund II (SPEF II). The fund will be used to invest in small-to-mid market companies in the financial services and ICT sectors.
The SPEF II was launched with an anchor investment of $20 million from the British International Investment (BII), a UK based development finance institution and impact investor.
Summit Africa says the fund will also be used to drive financial and digital inclusion, job creation, transformation and diversity in South Africa and the Southern Africa region. The fund will also target food security and other needs of the low-income population as an additional investment sector.
The Fund’s Investment Lead and Partner, Nthabiseng Thema, commented: “We are grateful for the support and commitment received from BII. This anchor investment demonstrates the strength of Summit Africa’s investment platform, our team, our fully integrated ESG and impact strategy, and our ability to work actively with portfolio companies to meet their financial and social impact objectives.”
extended R678 million in much-needed funding to over 6,200 South African Small, Medium, and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs),
provided critical healthcare services to over 31,050 patients specifically in peri-urban, township and rural areas, and
provided affordable, quality tertiary education and training to approximately 2,000 learners annually, majority of whom are previously disadvantaged individuals.
SPEF II intends to raise an additional R400 million to R500 million to reach its set target of R2.5 billion before it can commence with deployment of capital.
The fund is recognised as a 2X Investment under the 2X Framework, of which BII is a founding member, which advances opportunities for women through quality employment, business leadership, access to finance and products/services that meaningfully support women.
The BII says its investment in the fund reinforces its commitment to increase investment in black-owned and led businesses in Africa.
“Working with impact-aligned fund managers like Summit is important to help achieve our goal to deliver development impacts at scale. With its proven track record for the first fund, we are delighted to anchor the second private equity fund to double down support to SMEs in key sectors that improve the livelihoods of people in South Africa and the Southern African region,” concluded Leslie Maasdorp CEO of BII.
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