CDC has made a $15m commitment to CardinalStone Capital Advisors Growth Fund (CCAGF), which has recently achieved a $50m first close.

CDC has worked closely with the CardinalStone Capital Advisors team for two and a half years and played a key role in the formation of the fund. 

CDC is an anchor investor alongside Kuramo, an African investment firm, and has helped mobilise additional investment of $15m from the Dutch development bank FMO and the Nigerian sovereign wealth fund (NSIA). 

Clarisa de Franco, CDC’s Managing Director, said: “As a pioneering investor in African private equity we are delighted to be supporting CardinalStone’s first fund that will bring investment and expertise to the local entrepreneurs and high growth SMEs that are vital to Nigeria’s long-term economic growth and job creation. We have worked with CardinalStone from the beginning, helping them build a team and raise other investment.”

CCAGF is a first-time fund that targets SMEs across six sectors: agriculture, industrials, FMCG, healthcare, education and financial services. 

The Fund will invest in SMEs in Nigeria and Ghana, with a view to developing the targeted SMEs into sector leaders by supporting them through a strategic and operational intensive investing approach. 

CCAGF is a generalist fund and will make equity investments of between $5m and $15m.
  
Prior to the Fund, CardinalStone Capital Advisors made investments as the principal investment division of CardinalStone Partners and spun off into an independent fund manager in 2016. 

The CCA team is led by Yomi Jemibewon and Femi Ogunjimi. 

CCA plans to raise up to $100m in total commitments by the final close of the Fund.