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The first quarter of 2018 saw substantial private equity deal activity in the energy sector, particularly renewable power, such as Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund’s investment in a solar plant in Mali, and Off Grid Electric’s $55m series-D round led by Helios. Other prominent sectors in terms of investment were technology and agribusiness & food. The period has, however, been relatively quiet in terms of exits, with only a handful of transactions recorded.

Below are a selection of the quarter’s top private equity and venture capital industry headlines, as reported by Africa Private Equity News.

INVESTMENTS

Agribusiness & food: Amethis invests in West African confectionary and biscuits producer Afriwara Group | Water company Jibu completes $7m series-B financing | Agriculture and forestry group Obtala acquires Ivorian forestry company | EXEO Capital, through its Agri-Vie Fund II, backs South African aquaculture operator TerraSan | Zimbabwean private equity firm Takura Capital buys Mozambican vegetable producer | Investment firm Funguo ventures into agro-processing by acquiring fruit juice producer Feastfoods Processors | Fund manager Sahel confirms plans to invest in rice grower Coscharis Farms

Energy: Abu Dhabi Fund for Development approves $25m for solar projects in Rwanda and Mauritius I InfraCo Africa increases its commitment to Ethiopia’s first private geothermal project to $30m | Off Grid Electric, known by its consumer brand Zola, secures $55m series-D funding | Husk Power Systems receives $20m to scale business in Africa and Asia | IFC supports 175MW gas-fired power plant in Mozambique | AgDevCo invests in clean energy scheme in Tanzania to power local tea factory | Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) buys minority stake in Ghana’s Amandi power plant | Solar-startup Rensource raises $3.5m from Amaya, Omidyar and CRE Ventures | Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund leads financing of $97m for 50MW solar plant in Mali | AIIM and Helios join forces to acquire stake in Nigeria’s Starsight energy services company | Inspired Evolution to invest up to $36m in solar PV operator Alten Africa | Investec Asset Management makes further equity investment in Mobisol | Namibia’s Stimulus concludes second round of funding for Solar-Saver | Scatec Solar closes financing for Mozambique’s first large-scale solar plant | M-KOPA secures finance from CDC and FinDev Canada

Consumer: Uqalo completes investment in Kenyan casual dining chain Big Square

Technology and media: DEG backs M-BIRR, a mobile money technology provider in Ethiopia | TPG Growth to buy African music and entertainment company TRACE | French DFI Proparco acquires a $5m stake in the TLcom TIDE Africa Fund to invest in startups leveraging new technology | Kenyan e-commerce platform Sky.Garden and ride-hailing startup Mondo Ride raise a combined $3.2m in first week of February | Ethos Mid Market Fund I invests in South African internet services provider Echo | Agtech startup Wefarm secures new financing round led by True Ventures | Echo VC backs Nigerian hostel booking platform MyPadi | South African machine learning specialist DataProphet secures Knife Capital funding

Industrial: Mediterrania Capital Partners leads consortium investing €55m in Morocco’s biggest construction company | Amethis acquires a significant minority stake in Moroccan industrial equipment distributor Groupe Premium | Ascent Rift Valley Fund makes first investment in East Africa’s automobile industry | Namibia’s Eos Capital acquires key players in the water industry | Vele Private Equity to process zinc at old refinery

Banking and financial services: US equity fund Kuramo buys stake in Kenya’s Sterling Capital | South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation acquires equity in newly-licensed stock exchange ZAR X | Global financial services group Ocorian takes over Mauritius-based ABAX | Luxembourg firm invests Ksh100m in microfinancier Musoni | Goodwell Investments acquires stake in fintech player Oradian | Ghana’s First Atlantic bank secures capital from AFIG Funds | Investment company Arise acquires stake in Mozambique’s Moza Banco | Mediterrania invests in Groupe COFINA, a meso-finance institution in West and Central Africa

Healthcare: Trivitron and IFHA launch JV to provide medical devices in Africa | Mediterrania Capital Partners backs Egyptian diagnostics provider CAIRO SCAN | Alta Semper Capital commits $18m to West African pharmacy chain HealthPlus

Logistics: DOB Equity invests in East African on-demand delivery services company Sendy

EXITS

Fonds Afrique Developpement sells its shares in Ivorian publishing house Vallesse | LeapFrog successfully exits Ghanaian pensions provider | Phatisa achieves a partial exit from Kanu and raises $20m expansion capital | Centum divests 25% stake in East African micro-financier Platinum Credit | Actis sells stake in Kenyan construction management company to Turner & Townsend