English
FrançaisMastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund
Notre métier > Nos gammes d'activité > I&P Ecosystèmes > Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund
About
I&P is part of a new ambitious initiative for the investment industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: the USD$200 million Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a Fund of Funds which works through African investment vehicles to support early-stage, growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups on the continent.
Strategy: an initiative dedicated to African investment vehicles
African SMEs struggle to access the financing they need to scale, constraining their potential for job creation and limiting their development.
The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund tackles this challenge by investing in and strengthening African investment vehicles that in turn support African SMEs.
In addition to providing capital for investment vehicles, the Fund of Funds offers a business development facility for their portfolio companies.
Targets and objectives
The Fund-of-Funds initiative uses gender-lens investing principles to help advance the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which aims to enable 30 million young people in Africa, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
The program provides funding for Early-stage, Growth, Debt and Seed VC Funds and other non-traditional funds. A promising pipeline of 180 diverse investment vehicles has already been built.
Case study: Aruwa Capital Partners
The first investment of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund went to Aruwa Capital Management, a gender-lens $USD 20M fund dedicated to Nigeria's SMEs, managed by a first-time woman-led fund manager.
Launched in 2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes to address the investment gap that women led enterprises face in Africa, the fund invests in women focused small and growing businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, targeting investments in critical sectors such as healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, and essential consumer goods.
Click here to submit your application
The team
Aïssatou Gaye
Benson Gagi
Dennis Onyango
Eléonore Mississo
Hugues Vincent-Genod
Hugues Vincent-Genod
Hugues joined I&P in 2011 and holds the position of Director within the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund program since 2022.
Lucy Kimeu
Thelma Kodowu
Wiem Abdeljaouad
Consortium partners
The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund is implemented by a consortium of partners, led by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and including Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), Genesis Analytics, the Criterion Institute, and Africa Communications Media Group.
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is the Fund Advisor for the Fund of Funds, responsible for sourcing, assessing, and supporting the investment vehicles.
Initiator and funder
Lead
Business Development Services provider
Fund advisor
Gender, Diversity & Inclusion advisor
Learning partner
Communication partner
Latest News
 Impact and Evolution of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth FundNews | 29/01/2025 The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a bold initiative catalyzing risk capital for SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, is entering a new phase. After three years of impactful contributions, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) will transition its role as Fund Advisor to Mennonite... |
 I&P releases its Annual Impact ReportNews | 14/12/2023 I&P is thrilled to announce the release of its Annual Impact Report for the year 2023. The report offers a comprehensive overview of I&P's activities, achievements, and impact throughout the year, showcasing the growth and transformational changes spurred by the organization's... |
 Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund: 3 new investment funds join the portfolioNews | 04/12/2023 The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, of which I&P is Fund Advisor, is proud to announce the approval of 3 new investment funds: Chui Ventures, VestedWorld, and SME Impact Fund 2, which bring to 5 the number of funds supported since the launch in December 2022. Download the... |
 Unlocking Catalytic Capital for African SMEs: discover our new reportNews | 10/10/2023 In a new report entitled “Using Catalytic Capital to Foster African Entrepreneurs in Underserved Markets,” published in partnership with the Catalytic Capital Consortium, I&P showcases the effectiveness of catalytic capital in supporting African SMEs, offering recommendations to... |
 I&P sponsors Inua Capital, a new woman-led impact fund dedicated to SMEs in UgandaNews | 08/03/2023 I&P, through its dedicated program I&P Development (IPDEV 2), is proud to take part in the launch of Inua Capital, a gender-lens and impact-focused investor that provides patient growth capital to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda. Inua Capital has just reached the... |
 « Ce fonds privé qui fait grandir les PME africaines » : An article from Anne Cheyvialle on I&P for Le FigaroIn The Press | 12/01/2023 In this article from Le Figaro, Anne Cheyvialle describes the rise of the Burkinabe agricultural processing company Agroserv, now the leading player in the maize value chain in Burkina Faso and on its way to becoming one of the most important players in West Africa, and how I... |
 The first investment of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund goes to Aruwa Capital ManagementNews | 05/12/2022 The first investment of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (whose launch was announced last week) goes to Aruwa Capital Management, a gender-lens 20mUSD fund dedicated to Nigeria's SMEs, managed by a first-time woman-led fund manager. Aruwa announced today the successful... |
 $200 Million Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund debuts to empower emerging African fund managersNews | 01/12/2022 I&P is proud to be part of an innovative and bold initiative for the investment industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: the USD$200 million Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a Fund of Funds which works through African investment vehicles to support early-stage, growth-oriented small... |