Need $20-$60 Million? Theres a new private equity firm in town

Nigerian businesses looking to attract private equity funding have received an added boost. An Investment firm named Arkana Partners have set up a private equity fund that will target equity investments in Nigeria of up to $100 million.

Reuters reports that the fund is set up by Kayode Akinola and Marlon Chigwende who were previously with  Private Equity giants KKR and Carlyle for Africa respectively.

Here is Akinola as reported by Reuters. “We will be focused on the mid-cap, where we believe the bulk of opportunities are,” Akinola said, adding that while the emphasis will be on private equity investments the new firm will be flexible in its approach. “You need to bring your entire tool bag to the market. (In Africa) you can’t just say you’re only going to do buy-outs or just greenfield,” he said, referring to developing projects, often in infrastructure, from scratch. The new firm will look for ventures which are ready to absorb up to $100 million but will mostly focus on opportunities requiring between $20 and $60 million of equity, Akinola said, highlighting that what counts as “mid-cap” can vary widely in different African economies. It remained unclear when fundraising for the new venture would take place or how much the firm aimed to raise.

 Akinola is Nigerian while  Chigwende is originally from Zimbabwe and are taregting businesses in South Africa and Nigeria. Akinola was also bullish about Africa, despite the inherent fears. “The thing about emerging markets is that sometimes you have to be countercyclical. Africa continues to be a market where structural demand across most sectors will drive long-term growth.”