Investors update: New $10m fund to support climate-smart agric in Kenya

New $10m fund to support climate-smart agric in Kenya

Highlights

• Absa Bank Kenya PLC and the eco.business Fund have announced a $10 million partnership for the bank to on-lend to domestic and export businesses participating in the country’s agricultural value chains. 
• The funding line is expected to improve resource efficiency, increase food security, and mitigate the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector. 
• As part of the collaboration, the two organizations will work to improve the availability and quality of funding dedicated to agricultural value chains, as well as to promote sustainable practices across the sector. 

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Kenya’s agriculture sector is a major contributor to the economy, accounting for roughly 50% of GDP, 60% of export revenues, and 40% of the workforce. But the sector faces macroeconomic and climate-related challenges, resulting in stagnant yields and food insecurity. The lack of market access opportunities, post-harvest losses, unstructured value chains, and more highlight the importance of funds like this, needed to alleviate the high financial and technical threshold required to implement climate-smart agriculture practices.

---

Multichoice, Comcast, Sky in push for Africa’s streaming market

Highlights

• MultiChoice Group and Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky have partnered to bring global content to streaming customers across MultiChoice’s 50-market footprint in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The new Showmax group will be 70% owned by MultiChoice and 30% by NBCUniversal. It is expected to build on Showmax’s success to date and aim to create the leading streaming service in Africa.
• The service will combine MultiChoice’s investment in local content with international content licensed from NBCUniversal and Sky, third-party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony, and others, as well as live English Premier League football.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

The partnership comes at a time when Africa is approaching an inflection point in terms of broadband connectivity and affordability, which means more people are likely to be open to streaming entertainment content. Africa is increasingly becoming an important growth area for streaming services, which explains why tech giants like Amazon and Netflix as well as regional players like Multichoice are launching an offensive push to capture the region’s on-demand streaming subscribers, projected to reach 15 million by 2026.

---

Fund of funds launches in Ghana to unlock $75m of funding

Highlights

• Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) has begun the operational setup of its Ci-Gaba fund of funds, which seeks to unlock $75 million in local and international funding for local capital providers, who are investing in SDG-focused SMEs. 
• Impact Investing Ghana is a private-sector-led initiative that builds a thriving ecosystem for impact investing in Ghana. 
• A grant from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office RISA Fund will allow the fund of funds to set up its operations, secure anchor funders, and launch. The private sector-led fund of funds, the first domiciled in Ghana, will invest locally and across West Africa.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Along with other kinds of investments such as FDI, FPI, and venture capital, impact investing—providing financing for companies with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return—is a growing phenomenon in Africa. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) now estimates the size of the worldwide impact investing market to be $1.2 trillion. With African countries requiring billions annually to deliver on the SDGs & the AU’s Agenda 2063, impact investment can complement domestic resources to plug the huge investment needs.