IFC, FMO-Backed Fund Seeks $200 Million for East Africa Ventures

It will put $15 million to $25 million into businesses dealing in consumer goods, health care, industrial products and financial services. 

“We invest in SMEs that have a unique and scalable proposition, the ability to be game-changing and where value-creation opportunities exist across strategy and operations,” Rentschler said. “Besides investing in SMEs with significant return potential, we invest based on the thesis, that the most successful businesses are those that also generate positive social and environmental impact.”

Zoscales has attracted new development finance institutions, including SwedFund, and investors from regions such as the Middle East, and it has seen an increase in commitments from commercial investors and large family offices, Rentschler said. It will focus on Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The first fund had 50% backing from DFIs, while the balance was provided by commercial investors including six of the largest Danish family offices and foundations. 

It invested the first fund in Ethiopian beverage company CGF Crown Cork, Ethio-Asian Industries, which manufactures soaps and detergents, biscuit-maker Ahadukes Food Products, online recruitment platform Africa Jobs Network, Addis Ababa-based Pioneer Diagnostics Center and Mombasa-based Premier Hospital. Zoscales plans to plough the remaining proceeds of Fund I in a second hospital and a bank in East Africa.