World Bank Group investment unit, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has backed a new private equity vehicle aimed at high-growth for underserved Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and Ghana.
CardinalStone Capital Advisors is seeking up to $100 million for the fund, and has picked up 10 per cent of that through the investment from IFC.
CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund has now secured $50 million capital commitments thanks to backing from UK’s development institution CDC Group, investment house Kuramo, Dutch Development Bank FMO and the Nigerian sovereign wealth fund, among others.
William Sonneborn, IFC senior director for disruptive technology and funds, said, “IFC’s investment in CardinalStone will spur growth of SMEs and facilitate much-needed job creation, while creating the ecosystem for a more robust local private equity and mezzanine financing market.
“By supporting SMEs in fast-growing markets, we hope to bring best practices that raise the bar for operational improvements and environmental and governance standards across the investee companies.”
