Investors update: July 14 2023

Africa’s gaming market is expected to top $1 billion in 2024

Highlights

• The sub-Saharan African gaming industry is expected to generate over $1 billion for the first time in 2024, according to data from research firm Newzoo.
• In 2022, games sold in the region generated $862.8 million in revenue, up 8.7% year over year, according to Newzoo’s data.
• That’s in defiance of a broader contraction, with the global games market declining 4.3% in 2022 to $182.9 billion.

Source: CNBC

Our Takeaway

The figures, which were compiled by Newzoo, suggest a buoyant market for gaming in Africa, where economic growth has been sluggish as the region grapples with lingering inflation, tough financial conditions, and high net debt. Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth rate dipped to 3.6% in 2022 from 4.1% in 2021, according to the World Bank. And it is forecast to fall further in 2023, to 3.1%. Despite that, Africa’s video game market has been doing well, boosted by the adoption of smartphones and a higher-than-normal young population strongly embracing digital technology.

---

IFC backs Amethis Partners to support African businesses

Highlights

• To support the development of medium-sized companies in Africa across a range of sectors, IFC has made an investment in the first close of Amethis Partners’ Amethis Fund III.
• IFC will make an equity investment of $45 million in the fund. In addition, the project includes a co-investment envelope of up to $34 million to enable IFC to co-invest in select companies alongside the Fund.
• Amethis Fund III will provide essential growth capital to 10-12 medium-sized enterprises working in industries vital to the development of African economies across countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania. 

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Private equity fundraising in Africa faces several challenges including high-risk perception, foreign exchange risk, and economic uncertainty. As a result, international investors have reduced investment allocation to the African market. IFC’s investment seeks to anchor the fund’s fundraising to help keep vital financing flowing to mid-cap companies in Africa. The new investment is IFC’s third commitment to funds managed by Amethis Partners. In 2017, it invested $17 million in Amethis Fund II, a pan-African growth equity fund, and in 2021 committed $14 million to Amethis MENA Fund II, an SME-focused fund targeting investments in the MENA region.

---

Flutterwave, IATA to simplify payments for airlines serving Africa

Highlights

• Flutterwave, Africa’s payments technology company, has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) payment orchestration platform to facilitate travel to sub-Saharan Africa.
• IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) is an omnichannel payment orchestration and management platform fully dedicated to the airline industry and has been designed to allow airlines to receive local payments from local markets through all their distribution channels.
• With this integration, airlines across the world are able to process payments from customers through cards, bank transfers, mobile money, alternative payment methods, and other payment modes available on Flutterwave.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway

Africa is set to become one of the fastest-growing aviation regions in the next 20 years with an annual expansion of nearly 5%. One way to further accelerate this growth is to ensure airlines can easily set up operations across the continent and seamlessly receive payments from their customers. IATA has some 290 international airlines; this partnership enables them to easily expand their operations in Africa while receiving bookings and payments from customers in Africa using local and international payment methods.