The Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) has announced the launch of five new dedicated venture capital investment funds targeting high-growth industries with a high potential for investment in Angola and sub-Saharan Africa. Fundo Soberano de Angola is continuing to follow the fund’s capital preservation strategy begun in January 2014 with allocations geared toward providing socio-economic development as well as generating economic growth.
The FSDEA’s new Agriculture Venture Capital Fund will allocate $250 million to the sector, investing in the implementation of modern farming techniques and technologies. Agriculture and agribusiness employ the greatest percentage of the workforce in the region and are responsible for almost half of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP), however inefficiencies in the supply chain have hindered growth.
The FSDEA’s Timber Venture Capital Investment Fund will invest $250 million into the timber sector in Angola and sub-Saharan Africa over the next three to five years. Timber and forestry projects are key ‘bridge’ investments that will support marginal communities in rural areas as they transform into profitable, prosperous communities.
The FSDEA is also establishing a $250 million Mezzanine Investment Fund that will finance entrepreneurs involved in micro-business ventures that do not have access to traditional private investment. This fund, which is the first of its kind in the country, will also offer guidance to management from strategy to fruition.
In addition to the Agriculture, Timber, and Mezzanine funds, the FSDEA is also establishing funds to invest in the healthcare and mining sectors in the region. These five new funds join two existing funds – the $1.1 billion Infrastructure Fund that is investing in PPP’s and large industrial developments, and the $500 million Hotel Fund for Africa, that is investing in creating an adequate supply of international-standard business hotels in the region.
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