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The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) recently approved a €7 million equity investment in the IP Afrique Entrepreneurs SME Fund (IPAE). This will allow IPAE to increase access to finance and capacity building for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small microfinance institutions (SMFIs) in western and central Africa, thereby boosting income generation and job creation in the region.

This new fund will complete the range of financial vehicles managed by Investisseur Partenaire among which IP Développement (IPDEV), a private investment company, created in 2002, investing in SMEs and SMFIs in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

The IPAE Fund, targeting a final closing of €50 Million, will seek out high potential SMEs and SMFIs primarily in western and central Africa. Secondary focus countries, based on an opportunistic approach, will be located in the Indian Ocean region. The Fund will target SMEs across various industry sectors including healthcare, building materials and agribusiness.

Investisseur Partenaire already has a good track record of managing investments in SMEs and MFIs in various sub-Saharan African countries. IPDEV current portfolio of more than 30 investments has created more than 1,400 permanent jobs and provided financial assistance to more than 30,000 people. The IPAE Fund approach has been tailored to achieve similar results, including support to women entrepreneurs and development of the private sector in fragile

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