Amethis Fund II: An investment fund to develop family-owned SMEs in Africa.

Amethis is a generalist venture capital manager dedicated to Africa. It was set up by Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey in 2011 and today manages over EUR 650m via three funds. The team is based in Paris, Luxembourg, Abidjan, Casablanca and Nairobi.

Amethis Fund II (“AF II”) is the Amethis management team’s second investment fund dedicated to the entire African continent. The fund has a target size of EUR 300-350m and is aiming at 12 to 14 investments, with tickets ranging between EUR 10m and EUR 30m. It will seek to acquire “minority controlling” positions in mature family-owned SMEs. These investments will mainly be made in the context of capital increases, aiming at financing the development of companies via productive investments or external growth. AF II is a generalist fund and will seek to diversify its portfolio in sectors exposed to domestic consumption, which will be a pillar for the continent’s growth in the coming years (consumer goods, distribution, agro-industry, financial services, health, ICTs…). 

Through its investment strategy, which aims to take stakes in often family-owned SMEs and midcaps in order to provide them with resources for their development, Amethis II will contribute to reducing the long-term financing gap and supporting private sector development, economic growth and employment in Africa, especially in French-speaking Africa. 

In addition to this capital contribution, Amethis has demonstrated its ability to support the institutionalization of these SMEs, by strengthening governance, improving financial structuring, and supporting the implementation of action plans, particularly environmental and social plans. 

Amethis is supporting the companies in its portfolio by: 

• Holding seats on boards to support strategic and commercial reflection, and improve governance;
• Supporting capital structuring (internal growth) and external growth operations;
• Supporting CAPEX investments;
• Improving reporting practices (particularly financial reporting); and
• Raising awareness of the environmental and social aspects. 

The project will also contribute to employment and training for local communities. Based on the first fund, the project will contribute to the creation of 6,000 indirect jobs in the 15 companies invested in (estimate), including 2,400 held by women (40%, based on fund I). Training will be planned for 20% of employees thanks to the fund’s support and for an additional 20% by the company itself. 

Finally, the project will support the development of the private capital market in Sub-Saharan African countries where this resource is scarce.

Amethis helps companies mobilize the debt and/or equity financing required for their development.