Ethiopian Private Equity Firm, Ascent Capital, Will Raise $120 Million for SMEs

Ethiopia-based Private Equity Firm, Ascent Capital, is targeting $120 Million for its Ascent Rift Valley Fund II which it said will be pumped into East African Small and Medium-scale enterprises with the aim of helping them scale.

Business Elites Africa understands that Ascent Capital is seeking to raise the funding through various investors. Already, the company has received an investment proposal from the International Finance Corporation. The IFC recently disclosed its intention to invest the sum of $10 million into the 10-year closed-end generalist private equity fund.

“The proposed project is for an equity investment of up to $10 million (Sh1 billion) in Ascent Rift Valley Fund II L.P. The fund is seeking to raise $120 million…” the IFC noted in investment disclosures that were seen by Business Elites Africa.

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This past December, Ascent Capital also sealed a $10 million investment from FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank which specialises in maximising the development impacts of private sector investments.

Note that the Ascent Rift Valley Fund II L.P is being managed by Ascent Capital Management Africa II Ltd. The PE firm was incorporated in 2012 in Mauritius, but operates mainly from Addis Ababa. The company invests in East African companies and is headed by David Owino and other top executives such as Lucas Kranck, Koome Imathiu, and Florian Pape.