CardinalStone hits $76M first close for West Africa SME fund
What's the deal? CardinalStone Capital Advisers (CCA)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a West Africa-focused private equity manager, has reached a $76 million first close for its second fund, CCA Growth Fund II. The fund will provide growth capital to small and medium-sized businesses and help them expand into larger regional companies.
Who's backing it? Returning investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), British International Investment, and SCM CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. New backers include the Dutch Good Growth FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, CardinalStone PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Nigerian pension funds Stanbic IBTC Pension ManagersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Access ARM PensionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and FCMB PensionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The details: CCA Growth Fund II targets six sectors — agribusiness, industrials, consumer goods and services, healthcare, education, and financial services. Its main markets are Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal.
What's the endgame? The fund builds on CCA Growth Fund I, which invested in seven SMEs and supported more than 8,000 jobs, plus 1,000 SMEs across their value chains. Last year, CCA led an $18 million Series B round in Nigerian renewable energy company Arnergy SolarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why it matters: The partners said they were "particularly pleased by the strong participation of domestic Nigerian pension funds and asset managers." That local backing signals growing appetite among African institutions to fund the region's private markets.
The signal: "Small and medium enterprises are the engine of job creation in West Africa, yet far too many still lack access to the long-term capital they need to grow," said Farid Fezoua, director for equity, funds, and venture capital at IFC. Closing that funding gap is the pitch — and the test — for CCA's second fund.
Read more: african-startups.com
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