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Germany’s development finance institution DEG has announced a US$25 million commitment to Helios Fund V, the fifth private-equity vehicle managed by London-based Helios Investment Partners.
The fund, designed to unlock growth capital for mid-sized enterprises across Africa, will cover a broad range of sectors including financial services and fintech, consumer goods, information and communications technology (ICT), healthcare, light industry and renewable energy.
Helios Investment Partners, which has been active on the African continent since 2004, has raised and deployed approximately US $2.5 billion across its first four funds.
The firm currently manages over US$3 billion in assets, including related co-investment pools. Moreover, as of December 2024, the firm had reported generating $4.3 billion in liquidity through exits.
The injection of capital by DEG underscores the rising attention development finance institutions are paying to Africa-focused private-equity vehicles that aim to support scaling businesses and to mobilise private capital in promising sectors.
With Helios Fund V now backed by this commitment, Helios Investment Partners is positioned to further strengthen its portfolio of growth-stage African companies and help them expand in markets where demographics, technology adoption and demand for innovation are converging.
Farid, a pioneering Egyptian edtech startup, has successfully secured $250,000 in pre-seed funding from Saudi entrepreneur Amal bint Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan.
AgDevCo, a specialist investor in African agriculture, has announced a new investment in Cashew Coast, a leading cashew nut processing business in Côte d’Ivoire.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is planning to invest up to $8 million in Aruwa Capital Fund II, a private equity fund targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in West Africa.
