The African Rivers Fund, managed by XSML, has invested an undiclosed amount in Monishop, a supermarket in Kinshasa, DRC. 

Marcel Posthuma, Managing Partner at XSML, said: “Today, Kinshasa is Africa’s third most populous city with over 12 million inhabitants and with high growth expectations in the next decades. This will drive retail demand in the medium to long term. With excellent locations and management, Monishop is very well positioned to capture part of this growth.”

Since inception Monishop has grown to become the leading supermarket in Kinshasa in terms of product offering and overall store experience, with bank, fast-food and pharmacy facilities on the same premises. 

The investment supports Monishop to build a new large supermarket in the center of Kinshasa. 

Monishop was founded in 2011 and currently has its main operation in the Kintambo area of Kinshasa. 

Toussaint Ndombasi, Managing Director of Monishop, said: “The African Rivers Fund has provided us with the necessary funding to start a large scale construction project for a new supermarket in a prime area of Kinshasa.  We are excited to embark on this project, which will help Monishop in the next stage of its growth.”

Monishop is one of ARFs fifteen investments since first close of the fund in February 2016. The African Rivers Fund (ARF) is XSMLs second fund, after having fully invested its maiden fund, the Central Africa SME Fund (CASF) in the period 2012-2015. 

ARF targets growing, well-managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Central & East African region covering Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Republic of Congo as well as - over time - Burundi.