Development Partners International, an investment firm focused on Africa, has closed African Development Partners III Fund at $900 million.
Runa Alam, co-founder and chief executive officer DPI commented, “Africa remains an exciting investment destination with positive demographics, rising adoption of technology, and rising consumer and business spending. Against this backdrop, DPI has continued to generate top quartile returns by leveraging our team’s deep-rooted local expertise across the African continent. As we look towards the future with our ADP III fund, we will focus on innovation-driven companies leading the digital transformation of the economies in which they operate. In addition, our deep integration of impact and ESG initiatives in the investment life cycle has been widely recognized and ensures we are known as a trusted partner.”
ADP III secured capital from a range of pension and sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, endowment and foundations, insurance companies, fund-of-funds, asset managers, and impact investors. The global investor base represents 20 countries across North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Joanne Yoo, managing director at DPI, said, “The strong support for ADP III validates our strategic focus, creative approach and investment discipline. We are grateful for the trust that our investors have placed in DPI, and we are confident that our talented team will continue to deliver competitive returns and impact.”
ADP III has made four investments, including: Channel VAS, a global fintech business providing mobile financial services; SICAM, a Tunisian tomato producer; Kelix Bio, a biopharmaceutical platform broadening access to speciality generic drugs across Africa; and MNT-Halan, an Egyptian fintech ecosystem.
DPI places an emphasis on promoting standards in ESG through its investments, with the aim of creating institutionalized high-performing companies at exit. Working with its portfolio companies, DPI seeks to contribute to the UN sustainable development goals by implementing its proprietary impact and ESG management system based on three key impact themes: job quality, climate change, and gender balance.
PJT Park Hill acted as advisor and placement agent for ADP III, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal adviser for the Fund.