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I&P has developed an innovative strategy to best meet the financing and support needs of small and medium-sized African companies, based on four complementary business models.
Our approach
Investisseurs & Partenaires is an investor exclusively dedicated to African SMEs. Our mission is to contribute to the growth and sustainable development of the African continent by financing and advising entrepreneurs, project leaders, and SMEs seeking economic, social and environmental growth and success.
In Africa, these SMEs are the real missing middle of African economies. These enterprises face two key obstacles: lack of access to long-term financing and to skills and human resources.
Investisseurs & Partenaires brings its finance and management skills to its active partnership with the entrepreneur. I&P puts the entrepreneur at the heart of its approach and strives to build a long-term relationship of trust with him/her.
1. I&P employs a variety of finance instruments (minority equity or quasi-equity investments, seed financing, loans, etc.) according to the partner company’s size and maturity.
2. I&P conducts an in-depth analysis of the company prior to financing and provides strategic advice anf support thoughout the investment period.
I&P actively partcipates in the development and implementation of the business strategy and in the implementation of management tools developed with the entrepreneur.
3. Technical assistance resources are raised from investors of the fund and other grant-making organizations. These resources are used for skills development, knowledge transfer and training for entrepreneurs and their team.
4. I&P values its partner companies in professional organizations, gives them communication and visibility opportunities and allows them to be part of the Club Africain des Entrepreneurs, a club of business leaders selected for their commitment and professionalism.
Focus: the African Club of Entrepreneurs
The African Club of Entrepreneurs is a pan-African organization that gathers female and male entrepreneurs who are committed to contributing to a sustainable and responsible development process in Africa.
Its mission is to plead the cause of African entrepreneurship and develop business opportunities between and for its members.
Our ranges of activity
I&P's activities are structured around three key pillars to facilitate access to financing for African entrepreneurs: directly financing and supporting entrepreneurs (seed funding, private equity), supporting and developing African investment teams, and strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
I&P Acceleration
I&P brings its investor perspective to develop acceleration programs, with the support of major donors, to help high-potential small businesses access the funding they need to grow and scale up.
The acceleration range is built on a proven methodology, combining seed financing, training programs that integrate skills development and mentoring, strategic support, and technical assistance missions.
I&P Acceleration in the Sahel, I&P Acceleration Technologies and USAID PACE are carried out by I&P Entrepreneurs and Development, a non-profit organization.
Afrique Créative, SIBC and Pionnières are coordinated by I&P Conseil.
I&P Entrepreneurs et Développement and I&P Conseil aim to encourage and support entrepreneurship in Africa. They target entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their development as well as those still in the acceleration or incubation phase. The grant programs piloted by these two I&P’s entities are implemented for the benefit of African entrepreneurs in order to support the structuring and scaling up of their activities.
I&P Expansion
Perceived as a land of opportunity, the African continent is increasingly attracting private investors. Nevertheless, these investors are focusing on the continent's major transactions in the most dynamic markets, South Africa and East Africa.
From the outset, I&P's mission has been to "go where others don't go", to finance start-ups, to intervene in the Fragile and Least Developed Countries of the African continent and to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises or the "missing link" of African economies.
To do this, I&P designs generalist or thematic SME impact funds, financed by public and private investors committed to and motivated by the impact of these SMEs on their local stakeholders.
I&P Development
I&P Development is the first sponsor fund dedicated to jumpstarting, developing and supporting pioneer African Funds Managers
Since 2015, IPDEV has supported 7 partner funds in 7 fragile countries (Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, Madagascar). These funds have in turn invested and supported 60 SMEs with an average ticket of €250,000, achieving highly promising financial and impact results.
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I&P Fund-of-Funds
Building on its expertise in direct investment in SMEs, I&P acts as a reference investor and active partner to African investment teams, providing strategic support in structuring, fundraising, and management.
This approach, initiated in 2015 with the I&P Development program, took on a new dimension in 2022 with the launch of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, for which I&P served as advisor, and with the launch of FASA in 2025, managed by I&P.
I&P Ecosystems
I&P Ecosystems encourages the emergence of entrepreneurship in Africa and prepares ecosystems for better partnerships with investment funds through training programs for entrepreneurs and public or private intermediaries (incubators, accelerators, etc.).
I&P Ecosystems has also developed a range of research and consulting services that capitalize on I&P's expertise in financing African SMEs, formalizing them, and measuring their impact.
