The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced a $75 million investment in Helios Investors V, L.P. (Helios Fund V).
- •The fund will support the growth of companies that help provide digital infrastructure, tech-enabled business services, and financial services and technology.
- •Previous investment rounds by Helios have shown a history of strong financial performance with several successful exits from companies such as Equity Group Holdings and Telkom.
- •Helios has invested in a data center in Kenya known as IX Africa and is also invested in Acorn Group, Africa Oil, Interswitch, and Wananchi Group.
“We look forward to supporting them as they invest in market-leading, value-creating and socially responsible enterprises for the mutual benefit of Africa and the European Union. This is fully aligned with the Global Gateway priorities being implemented by Team Europe,” EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said at the ongoing Finance in Common Summit in Cape Town, South Africa.
The fund will support the growth of companies that help provide digital infrastructure like data centres, fibre-optic networks and telecom towers; tech-enabled business services like cloud services, health tech and logistics tech; and financial services and technology like bank tech payments or financial management software: It will also support companies that help provide healthcare or education and training.
In a statement, EIB said that Helios had committed to devoting at least 30% of the fund’s portfolio to meet the bank’s gender equality criteria.
Last year EIB Global, the European Investment Bank’s specialised development finance arm, invested €232 million in funds operating across Africa – representing 49% of total fund investments by the Bank.
