The Empower Fund, created by the CDC Tunisia, has announced its first close, according to UGFS and TLG Capital. The fund’s mandate calls for investments in SMEs, especially those that have a great chance of expanding throughout the region and the rest of Africa. In order to achieve equity-like returns with a lower risk profile, the fund will use debt and mezzanine structures with embedded strong equity upsides.
In addition to being Gender 2X compliant, the fund will seek to address UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. Financial and social returns will be considered together.
Both TLG and UGFS have a history of investing in the area, and the two managers bring complementary skill sets to the table. TLG, in particular, has a pan-African perspective and strong structuring capabilities.
TLG Capital invests in small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa with the belief that commercial and social returns go together. The firm has invested in over 30 deals to date and exited over 20.
UGFS, a subsidiary of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO), manages TND 150M in assets and has launched 14 funds and funded more than 120 projects to date, solely focused on the Tunisian market.