Jacana Joins Forces with Fidelity Capital Partners in Ghana
Jacana, the group that supports emerging SME private equity firms in Africa, has entered into a strategic partnership with Fidelity Capital Partners Limited, a Ghana?based fund manager with a total of $32 million under management. Jacana will make an investment in Fidelity Capital Partners, enabling it to expand the senior team. Jacana will also provide hands?on management support to both the investment team and their portfolio companies, ahead of the planned launch of Fidelity’s third fund in 2012.
Stephen Antwi?Asimeng, Senior Partner of Fidelity Capital Partners, commented:
“We approached Jacana as a strategic partner because we believe that the combination of our local market experience and deal flow with their international expertise in private equity will be a powerful one which will enable us to scale new heights.”
Fidelity Capital Partners was founded in 1999 and is one of West Africa’s leading SME private equity firms. It currently manages two SME funds (Fidelity Equity Funds I and II) on behalf of a number of investors including SSNIT, the Venture Capital Trust Fund, Oikocredit, Sovec and leading Development Finance Institutions such as FMO (the Netherlands) SIFEM (Switzerland) and Finnfund (Finland).
Founded by European private equity experts, Jacana’s mission is to contribute to long?term poverty alleviation by attracting public and private investment to SMEs in Africa. The approach is to partner with and develop local private equity fund managers. The combination of Jacana’s capital and expertise enables its partners to grow their teams, build their track records and raise larger funds.
This transaction is Jacana’s second partnership following its investment in InReturn Capital, an East African SME investment firm, in early 2010. The partnership with Fidelity Capital enables Jacana to extend its footprint in Sub Saharan Africa and further develop its track record in building successful SME private equity firms.
Claude Barras, Managing Director of SIFEM and Ben Zwinkels, Senior Investment Officer of FMO, both Board Directors of Fidelity Capital, commented:
“We believe that the combination of Jacana and Fidelity Capital will enhance returns for all investors and help us to achieve our development goals in Africa. We are excited about working together with Jacana and supporting both partners in their future growth.”
This article was originally posted on West Africa Business Communities
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