The governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Luxembourg will invest €10 million into BLOC Smart Africa which is an African impact fund created by Bamboo Capital Partners. The impact fund intends to raise €100 million to invest in high growth start-ups in Africa with the ability to scale in at regional level within Africa.

Funding in Africa for companies between the seed and growth stage is limited, yet there are various opportunities to expand African services through innovative solutions that have a social impact and profitable return for investors. The participation of governments in impact investment funds reflects a growing interest in nurturing upcoming start-ups.

Bamboo Capital Partners is a commercial private equity firm making investments in energy, healthcare and financial services globally. Bamboo has close to $400m in assets under management with a portfolio of companies in over 30 countries. The firm was established in 2007 and has offices in Luxembourg, Geneva, Bogota, Nairobi and Singapore.