The Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) has invested €10m in AfricInvest’s Maghreb Private Equity Fund IV,  Africa Global Funds has learned.

SIFEM said this “investment in MPEF IV will help to promote growth and job creation in a region, which is still recovering from the Arab Spring and where private investors are still reluctant to invest”. 

“It will contribute to the achievement of SECO and SDC’s objectives to expand the private sector and generate employment, a key element contributing to prevent future social tension, political unrest and migration pressure.”

“North Africa’s economies have failed to grow fast enough to create sufficient jobs. While governments can provide an enabling environment, the largest motor of job creation is the private sector, specifically SMEs and mid-market enterprises,” SIFEM said.

AfricInvest has  recently announced the first closing of its North African Fund (MPEF IV). 

The fund has received capital commitments of €137m and expects the total to grow to more than €150m by year-end.

MPEF IV will invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market companies in North Africa (including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia). 

The fund’s strategy will target companies that are well-established in their local markets and that have the potential to scale up their activities at the regional level, in the Mediterranean basin, and across the African continent. 

AfricInvest is a seasoned fund manager with six offices across the region (Tunis, Algiers, Casablanca, Abidjan, Lagos, Nairobi). 

The Manager has a proven track record of adding value to portfolio companies, implementing best practice ESG standards and demonstrating strong development impact.