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About IPAE 1
I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 1 (IPAE 1) is the second fund launched by I&P to support entrepreneurs seeking economic growth and societal impact.
It targets SMEs operating in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean whose financing needs are higher than the companies supported by IPDEV 1 and IPDEV 2, ranging from €300,000 to €1,5 million.
Click here to read more about IPAE's successor fund, IPAE 2
Key takeaways
⇒ 12 different countries, half of which are classified as Least Developed Countries.
⇒ The companies operate in a dozen different sectors (Food, Microfinance, Construction, Transport, Health, Services, IT, Energy...).
⇒ A combination of companies at different stages of growth, with around ¼ investing in start-ups and ¾ investing in companies in expansion phase.
⇒ IPAE1's partner companies are showing strong growth, both in turnover and number of employees.
⇒ The fund has fully exited 2 companies and has completed 8 partial exits or exits in progress.
IPAE 1's portfolio
IPAE 1's governance
IPAE 1 is governed by 3 bodies:
Every month the following professionals from the private equity and the development sectors meet to discuss on ongoing projects and investment decisions.
- Olivier Lafourcade, Consultant, former director at the World Bank
- Luc Rigouzzo, CEO of Améthis Finance, former CEO of Proparco
- Jean-Michel Severino, CEO of I&P and former CEO of AFD (2001-2010)
- François Wohrer, CEO of Compagnie Financière Degroof and former Senior Investment Officer at IFC
- Hervé Schricke, President "Club Afrique", AFIC
- Ann Katrin Dolium, Expert on ESG and CSR issues
- A member of the I&P team
Composed of representative of key investors of the fund, it meets at least twice a year to give another perspective on potential conflicts of interest and on the funds activities.
IPAE's investment team
Ando Annette
Anna Traoré
Ben Kouakou
Ben Kouakou
Ben Kouakou joined I&P in 2021 and is operating as Investment Director for the funds I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE 1 and IPAE 2).
...
Fitia Fonenantsoa
Fitia Fonenantsoa
Fitia joined I&P Madagascar's investment team as a Investment Officer in December 2021 and is in charge of developing new investments and monitoring the investment portfolio of IPAE in...
Francis Owusu
Francis Owusu
Francis joined the team in 2018 and operates as Investment Director in the Accra office. He manages the activities of IPAE 1 and IPAE 2 in Ghana and Nigeria.
...
Jean-Michel Severino
Jérémy Hajdenberg
Joliot Randriamiandravola
Landry Parkouda
Marguerite Tall
Mialy Ranaivoson
Oty Kévin Aie
Samuel Monteiro
Sébastien Boyé
Shino Grivel
Soraya Ouertani
Vivian Tchatchueng
Latest IPAE 1 News
 Enko Education prepares African students for their university applications with "Knowledge for College"Entrepreneurs | 15/04/2019 Enko Education is launching the "Knowledge for College" programme, a twelve-hour e-learning course to support African high school students in their university applications. Led by guidance counsellors and experts from prestigious universities around the world, these online... |
 The fund IPAE 1 completes two exits with strategic partnersNews | 28/01/2019 The fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 1 (IPAE 1), launched by Investisseurs & Partenaires in 2012, exits from two companies of its portfolio: the group CONERGIES, based in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, and the Senegalese company Delta Irrigation. Both are made with strategic partners... |
 A successful crowdfunding campaign for Eden TreeEntrepreneurs | 20/12/2018 Eden Tree recently completed a crowdfunding round of €30,000 in 4 days to install a solar plant for its factory in Accra, Ghana. This crowdfunding platform was provided by Ecoligo Investments, a crowdinvesting platform for renewable energy projects initiated by ecoligo GmbH with a... |
 PEG Africa wins top industry award in GhanaEntrepreneurs | 19/11/2018 PEG Africa is a young company which aims to bring off-grid solar energy access to rural and peri-urban communities in West Africa by providing pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar home systems to rural and remote customers. The company joined I&P’s portfolio in 2015. PEG Africa has been... |
 NEST achieves ISO 9001:2015 quality certificationEntrepreneurs | 15/10/2018 On October 10, NEST get ISO 9001:2015 certified. This certification aknowledges the quality of NEST's services: "Patient Reception and Orientation, Consultations, Hospitalizations and Follow-up". "NEST has placed quality management at the core of its strategy since the beginning. This... |
 Neurotech gets ISO certified for its management systemEntrepreneurs | 20/09/2018 Neurotech, an information and technology provider delivering solutions for Senegalese enterprises, get the ISO 9001:2015 certification, relative to quality management. The ISO 9000 family addresses various aspects of quality management and contains some of ISO... |
 Enko Education launches two new schools in Mali and Burkina FasoEntrepreneurs | 18/06/2018 African International Schools group Enko Education has announced the launch of two new schools, which will open at the beginning of the new academic year in September 2018: Enko Bamako International School in Bamako, Mali and Enko Ouaga International School in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.... |
 Article of Pharmivoire Nouvelle (Côte d’Ivoire) : Local production of medicine and accessibility challengesEntrepreneurs | 25/01/2018 The latest edition of the quarterly magazine « Private Sector and Development » focuses on the issue of African medicine. As recalled by Philippe Abecassis and Nathalie Coutinet in the introduction, access to proper medicine is a major challenge for African countries. The... |
 EVPA success stories: NEST in SenegalEntrepreneurs | 27/10/2017 The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) launched a new website featuring a set of innovative projects supported by foundations and impact funds. The Senegalese company NEST counts among the ‘’success stories’’ selected by EVPA. The stories showcase how these companies... |
 New impact study on I&P’s portfolio: ITGStore in CameroonEntrepreneurs | 19/10/2017 Each year I&P conducts an in-depth impact study on one of its portfolio companies. This year’s study focuses on ITGStore, an ITC company based in Cameroon. It was conducted by I&P and FERDI (the Foundation for International Development Study and Research). Download... |