The Covid pandemic and volatile markets are causing various investors and asset owners to review their portfolios, according to Zack Bezuidenhout, Head of client coverage for S&P Dow Jones Indices SA and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, has launched a $6.5bn fast-track facility to support private sector investors and lenders tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries.
Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has been significantly impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak and is forecast to fall sharply from 2.4% in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1% in 2020, the first recession in the region over the past 25 years, according to the latest Africa’s Pulse, the World Bank’s economic update for the region.
South Africa’s GreenCape and National Treasury’s Jobs Fund have launched an approximately R488m Green Outcomes Fund (GOF), which provides outcomes-based matched funding to local investment funds to support investments into green local Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs).
Insurance firms are an important source of capital for investment on the African continent, according to Gilbert Anyetei, Alternative Investment Associate at RisCura.
Vital Capital, an impact investor focused on companies in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced a new debt facility providing loans to promising businesses to help them get through the coronavirus pandemic while continuing to offer essential services.
In light of the recent volatile market conditions, the boards of Investec have decided not to pursue the global offer of approximately 10% of the combined total issued share capital of Ninety One.
Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA), a new generation of impact investment manager, has launched a $90m senior debt fund targeting off-grid solar energy and financial access in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Frontier funds are currently very underweight with just 1.8% in Morocco, but may increase their exposure when its weight in the MSCI Frontier Index increases, according to Renaissance Capital.
SDG500, a $500m impact investment platform, has launched, combining partners from the private and public sectors, including United Nations entities, non-governmental organisations and a private equity firm, to catalyse investments that will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Norfund has, together with Shuraako, the Danish development finance institution, IFU, and Arsenault Family Foundation, established a $10m fund for supporting small and medium sized companies in Somalia.
Shell Foundation, a UK-registered charity, together with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, have launched the $120m Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), with an initial close of $45m.
The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) has announced a 24% leap in infrastructure financing in Africa in 2018, surpassing $100bn for the first time.
The demerger and independent listing of Investec Asset Management (IAM) remains on track for Q1 2020, subject to Investec Group shareholder approvals.
