News

On July 21st, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), in partnership with the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce and the European Union, organized a masterclass dedicated to funding solutions for SMEs in Cameroon ( from microfinance to equity investment). During this event, several financial and legal institutions as well as entrepreneurs shared their experience in order to draw up a complete panorama of traditional and alternative funding solutions available to companies according to their size and maturity.

Since April 2021, the impact fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE2) pursues an active pace of investment, welcoming four new companies in its portfolio, in Ghana (XpressGas, Zeepay), in Kenya (EdPartners Africa) and Cameroon (Pigier Cameroun).

Let's have a look on these various investments and on the fund IPAE 2, which is continuing its mission despite a context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest edition of our newsletter is online! This newsletter notably includes:

• An editorial signed by Koen Doens, Director-General DG INTPA, European Commission (see below)

• A zoom on the latest investments of the fund IPAE 2

• An interview of Angéline Yougbaré Traoré, founder of Maison Fenel in Burkina Faso.

126 applications were received during the call for applications which lasted from April 19th to May 5th. The 82 eligible applications were reviewed and evaluated by the national partner incubator, an institutional representative (AFD, French Embassy or Institut français), and a partner from the ICC or entrepreneurial ecosystem per country.

Last June, I&P went to meet Angéline Yougbaré Traoré, a young entrepreneur who founded Maison Fenel, a company specialized in the production and marketing of fashion accessories made from local woven fabrics (Faso Dan Fani) and the first company run by a woman who benefited from I&P Acceleration in Sahel in Burkina Faso.

Through I&P Acceleration in Sahel, financed by the European Union, I&P launched on Friday June 11 its first training program for entrepreneurship support structures (incubators, acceleration centers, start-up studios...) in the Sahel sub-region. The first cohort, which has just been selected, will benefit from structuring training to better support SMEs and start-ups.

Little desired by investors, the Sahel region is nevertheless a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and innovative projects, stimulating local growth and promoting job creation. Difficult access to funding and skills are the major issues preventing the development of these companies and projects.

I&P's newsletter for April/May 2021 is online!

In this newsletter : an editorial signed Stéphanie Cohn Rupp, reflecting on Impact Assets 50 and education issues in Sub-Saharan Africa; a focus on the 4th edition of the Social & Inclusive Business Camp and an interview of Ranto Andriambololona, Founder of HaiRun Technology and SmartPredict in Madagascar.

Keiwa and Legafrik, two Ivorian start-ups operating in the tech sector, have recently joined the portfolio of I&P Acceleration Technologies, a program aiming to finance and support about fifteen digital start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa.

These two companies will benefit from seed financing and strategic support, provided by I&P Acceleration Technologies and the team of Comoé Capital, I&P's partner in Côte d'Ivoire.

Officially launched in July 2020 with the support of the European Union, I&P Acceleration in Sahel program has funded in 6 months 28 growing small businesses in the Sahel sub-region.