Improved business trading policies, increasing urbanization, a larger and more educated workforce, and rising consumer spending, make Africa one of the most vibrant, new frontier market economies in the world. IDF Capital is tapping into this market through its tailored financial services offering for African entrepreneurs. In 2015, IDF Capital jointly established a Sub-Saharan Africa SME PE Fund called Alitheia IDF in collaboration with Alitheia Capital of Lagos, Nigeria.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing middle class in the world. This has increased the need for industrialisation, infrastructure development and urbanisation in the region and created opportunities for innovative businesses. The IDF Innovation Fund (IIF) is a Venture Capital vehicle currently raising funds to invest in innovative enterprises in Africa. In collaboration with the relevant ecosystem players, IDF Innovation Fund seeks to address the common challenges faced by innovative businesses, namely limited access to capital, market opportunities and lack of skills. The Fund will invest capital to drive growth through a proactive Gender Lens Investing (GLI) strategy and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, targeting both social and financial returns. The Fund’s main impact pillars are inclusive economy, value creation, sustainable ventures and social outcomes. The investment team is comprised of experienced professionals with relevant industry experience, a strong track record of deal sourcing, transaction advisory services and post- investment support. The team is highly skilled in deal structuring across debt, venture capital and equity transactions as well as driving successful exits.

The working capital challenge is widely inherent in SMEs. They require working capital funding for growth, profitability, and sustainability. SMEs are riskier and less profitable than larger entreprises and they usually hit a brick wall when seeking working capital financing. In the past, many SME businesses offered concessions or discounts as incentives to secure immediate payment. However, in today’s competitive business environment most customers expect an extended timeline for payment. However, by extending payment terms, working capital is diminished, negatively impacting the business growth. This necessitated IDF Capital to explore innovative ways to circumvent the challenges and mitigate risks that are associated with funding SMEs for working capital. Invoice discounting and purchase order funding are appropriate and effective solutions to the challenge highlighted above. IDF Capital is leveraging its more than 15 years' experience of investing and creating value in SMEs by raising a debt fund to meet the growing demand for working capital for SMEs, through the debt funding arm, IDF Finance. Our de-risked finance model, highly mitigates payment default and purchase order execution risk whilst generating sustainable returns