Impact investment firm Goodwell Investments has unveiled a new $60 million fund, seeking to provide capital from family offices, private investors, and foundations to fast-growing, scalable African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The fund, dubbed Goodwell V, is a multi-sector private equity fund focused on inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa.
Goodwell V further seeks to build a new portfolio of companies across various sectors in Africa. At least a quarter will be invested in agriculture, one-third in financial inclusion, and the remainder in mobility and other impact sectors, including healthcare and education. The fund will also allocate follow-on funding to existing portfolio companies, including MFS Africa, Copia, Tomato Jos, Good Nature Agro, and Nomanini.
Goodwell Investments is an investment firm focused on fintech, financial inclusion, and inclusive growth in sectors providing basic goods and services, as well as income generation opportunities to the underserved. Since 2006, the firm has raised five funds with over $150 million in capital. Goodwell has invested equity in early-stage businesses in technology and financial services companies in Africa and India, including mobile payments, classical microfinance, affordable housing finance, rural banking, public transport technology, and merchant payment networks.
Goodwell’s 25 portfolio companies have reached over 28 million households with close to $2.1 billion in financial products and services and employ more than 33,000 people. African portfolio companies in the fintech field include Nomanini (South Africa), Paga (Nigeria), Musoni Systems (pan-African), Lydia (Nigeria), MFS Africa (pan-African), and WhereIsMyTransport (pan-African) in mobility tech.
Goodwell is currently fundraising for uMunthu, a €100 million fund for Sub-Saharan Africa that will invest in agribusiness, financial inclusion, and other inclusive growth sectors with a heavy focus on the digital economy.
