Goodwell Investments fund hits final close with $25 million
Goodwell Investments has reached final closing of its Goodwell III fund, raising €20m from over 30 investors for investments in inclusive economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nico Blaauw of Goodwell Investments said: “The fund will be cornerstone investor in our new €100m uMunthu fund, that will invest in inclusive economy in Sub Saharan Africa, with focus on digital inclusion.”
Goodwell III is funded by a mix of professional High Net Worth Individual investors and family offices.
Goodwell invests in young, fast growing companies that offer products and services to underserved people to meet their increasing demand for affordable and quality basic products.
The goal is to achieve maximum social impact while delivering a market rate return to investors.
Goodwell said that economic and social developments are rapidly changing the face of Africa.
Still, millions of people are excluded from accessible and adequate basic goods and services, such as financial services, energy or health care.
Goodwell is convinced that if underserved consumers had access to these basic services, it would contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive society.
This objective is best achieved by providing capital and management support to companies that deliver these products and services.
Investment in the financial sector is crucial as it is the driving force behind a thriving local economy. This gives businesses the best leverage and opportunities to scale-up.
Blaauw told Africa Global Funds that the Fund has many deals in the pipeline and has already invested in eight companies.
The investment fund is built on a portfolio that is spread across various impact sectors and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The current portfolio includes Microcred Nigeria; Pagatech, Nigeria; WhereIsMyTransport, South-Africa; Nomanini, South-Africa/Mozambique; Innovative Microfinance Limited, Ghana; Women’s World Bank Ghana, Ghana; Oradian, Nigeria; and MFS Africa, South-Africa.
“Our focus is on inclusive businesses in Sub Saharan Africa, with strong focus on financial digital inclusion. Half of the fund will be invested in financial inclusion, the other half in other impact sectors, such as energy, education, transport and water. 80% will be invested in regions in which we already have a presence and local partner teams on the ground,” Blaauw said.
“Our strategy is always to support our portfolio companies with capital and management support, while we allow them a long runway to ensure that they can built the business from a strong scalable foundation,” he added.
According to Blaauw, Sub-Saharan Africa provides a great number of opportunities across many countries and regions.
“We have already invested with this fund in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa in companies that provide products and services that have the potential to serve people across the whole continent. We are currently also looking at opportunities in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Gambia, while we obviously are also very keen to see how Zwibabwe will develop.” Source: Asoko Insight