Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), an impact investment group dedicated to African SMEs, has acquired a 35% equity stake in SCRIMAD Group, an agribusiness company located in Madagascar, via its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs Fund (IPAE).

Emilie Debled, Business Development Director at I&P, said that SCRIMAD was a perfect fit for I&P: “It’s not only about growing the company to the next level, but also about providing revenues to all the small farmers working for SCRIMAD.”

“We aim to provide not only good financial returns, but also very strong social returns with the possibility to structure the value chain,” she told Africa Global Funds.

Founded in 1993 and managed by Simon Rakotondrahova, SCRIMAD is specializing in the export of fresh litchi under the PREMIUM EXOTICA brand.

It is positioning itself as an exemplary company in the agro-alimentary sector, prioritizing direct marketing to targeted markets.

In agribusiness, SCRIMAD also supplies a variety of products such as spices, vegetables and tropical fruits.

Additionally, SCRIMAD ensures, through Mister CLEAN, the cleaning of business premises, residences, the creation and maintenance of green spaces as well as sanitation services.

With the investment from I&P, SCRIMAD aims to increase the production capacity, diversify its activities and ensure stable income to the partner farmer organizations.

As an impact investor, I&P applies rigorous Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards across its portfolio companies and SCRIMAD is no exception.

“We have somebody at I&P, who is fully dedicated to ESG practices. She is working with the investment manager in Madagascar and the entrepreneur to build the action plan around specific ESG areas,” said Debled.

This is the third investment by the €54m I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE) Fund in Madagascar, after IOT (aquaculture) and ACEP Madagascar (microfinance).

The IPAE is in its fourth year of investment, and to date made 20 investments in various sectors such as agribusiness, microfinance, building materials and transport.

The objective of the IPAE is to invest into profitable and growing medium-sized companies.

According to Debled, the impact investment Fund has 15 more investments to make by the end of 2017.

“We are about to announce two new investments in Ghana and in Cote d'Ivoire. In Ghana we are investing in Persistent Energy Ghana, an asset financing company selling solar products to off-grid customers,” she said.

I&P was created in 2002 by Patrice Hoppenot and managed since 2011 by Jean-Michel Severino.

I&P invests in small and medium sized companies (SMEs) from Central and West Africa (from Senegal to DRC, except from Nigeria), and Indian Ocean, with a few investments in East Africa.