Kenyan firm looks to raise $40m from local LPs

Kenyan private equity firm Fanisi Capital has launched its second fund targeting between 7.5 billion Kenyan shillings (€70 million; $75 million) and 10 billion Kenyan shillings.

The fund will invest mainly in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, focusing on investments in high-growth sectors including agribusiness, healthcare, retail and education.

Fanisi Capital Fund II will look to raise up to $40 million from local LPs, with the rest coming from international investors.

“We are essentially involved in building African businesses and African value chains, and have done so successfully in the past. This is why local investors are especially keen to put money into our fund,” Fanisi Capital managing partner and chief executive officer Ayisi Makatiani said in the statement.

The 10-year, closed-ended growth fund has already attracted commitments from “several leading pension funds”, and is seeing “strong interest from local investors, including key institutional investors”, Fanisi said.

It is anticipating holding a first close by the end of the year on around $30 million, the firm said.

The vehicle’s predecessor launched in 2010 and held a final close on $50 million. That fund was fully invested in 2015.

Investments in Fund I include Nairobi-based private education provider Hillcrest International Schools, Rwandan pharmaceutical wholesalers Sophar, retail pharmacy chain Haltons, Tanzanian agro-processing company Kijenge, and Ngare Narok Meat Industries, a supplier of prime meat cuts and processed meat products.

Fanisi Capital was founded in 2009 by the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) and Amani Capital, based in Nairobi. Investors in Fund I include the IFC, part of the World Bank Group, which committed $7.5 million to the vehicle.