InReturn Capital, a Nairobi based private equity company that invests in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across East Africa, has rebranded to Jacana Partners, a leading pan-African SME private equity firm and long-term partner of InReturn Capital. The rebrand is the first phase of a legal merger that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013. The merger will create an SME private equity group with pan-African coverage that will manage a new $75 million SME fund expected to close later this year.
The move marks a significant boost for East African entrepreneurs seeking value-add expertise and growth capital for their SMEs. By partnering with Jacana, entrepreneurs will receive: increased access to private equity investment; dedicated on-the-ground investment teams; international private equity expertise and larger deal sizes of between $1-5 million (up from InReturn’s current transaction size of $0.5-1.3 million).
The rebranding and subsequent merger is the rational next step for a partnership that has been running successfully for three years and follows the rebranding of Jacana’s West African operations (previously Fidelity Capital Partners) in August last year.
Jacana has invested over $20 million to date in 20 portfolio companies employing over 1,300 people. In East Africa, five investments have been made to date in a stone quarry, an eye care centre, a supplier of tarpaulins to the relief sector, a serviced office provider and a logistics company and several other transactions are contemplated in the next few months.
Anthony Gichini, Partner at InReturn Capital said: “The merger of InReturn Capital with Jacana Partners represents a big step forward in private equity investment for SMEs in East Africa. Jacana’s unique model combines international private equity experts with highly-experienced local teams, meaning our entrepreneurs benefit from strategic advice from international business experts as well as dedicated African investment managers on-the-ground who can add-value and provide hands-on management support. This combination is our winning formula which helps us build strong businesses and deliver superior returns.”
Simon Merchant, CEO of Jacana said: “By merging our African and European operations, we are consolidating our business into a single fund manager, operating under the Jacana brand. As well as investing the remaining capital from our existing funds, the new Jacana will deploy a new $75 million SME fund that we are currently in the processing of raising from international investors. The new fund will allow us to significantly increase the scale and
geographic reach of our operations and will be invested in SMEs in up to eight countries in East and West Africa. We firmly believe that a unified Jacana operating under the unique Jacana identity is the optimal platform upon which we can fulfill our mission of building the best SME private equity team in Africa, creating sustainable jobs and supporting long-term economic growth.”
Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya commented: “East Africa is undergoing a period of rapid economic growth largely fuelled by the expansion of our small-to-medium sized enterprises - key generators of job creation and GDP growth. The merger being rolled out today brings scale to the financing of SMEs which will boost their contribution to East Africa’s economic growth. It is my expectation that we shall see more similar initiatives to scale up financing to SMEs that lie at the heart of development blueprints for governments in the region.’’
Jacana currently operates in six markets in East and West Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda) and intends to move into two new countries with the new fund, such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and/or Francophone West Africa. Jacana is the only pan-African private equity company with a permanent commitment to the SME sector.
Source: Jacana Partners