Welcome to the January edition of the Addleshaw Goddard Africa Group Newsletter in which we examine white-collar crime with guest editing from our Global Investigations team. The team specialises in all aspects of criminal liability, compliance, and defending corporate and individual clients against enforcement action, particularly in the sphere of financial crime.

Mediterrania Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North Africa and Sub-Saharan countries, announces the sale of its remaining stake in Cash Plus — the largest independent money transfer company in Morocco — to a group of Moroccan family offices.

With the election of a more climate-focused administration in the United States and the European Union (EU) honing in on the mining industry to reduce their carbon emissions, the South African government and mining industry must work together to effect the transition to a lower carbon future.

2021, London: Crown Agents Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Bhairav Trivedi as CEO Designate. His appointment is subject to the usual regulatory confirmations in due course. Bhairav and current Group CEO Albert Maasland will jointly oversee the transition.

Grit Real Estate Income Group Ltd, a Mauritian-registered company focused on investing in and actively managing a diversified portfolio of assets in carefully selected African countries, has completed its move to the Premium segment of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), joining some of the worlds’ largest and most successful companies. The Premium segment is recognized as having the highest levels of corporate governance, which often improves overall ratings and investor interest.Grit is the first Mauritian company to list within this segment and is expected to enjoy increased liquidity, increased shareholder participation and potential to join the FTSE indices in due course.

Mediterrania Capital Partners, the Private Equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce that Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, has won the Financial Afrik 2020 Award for “Economist of the Year” and is included in the list of “The 100 people that are transforming Africa” published by the prestigious magazine on the December edition.

The Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) has received a further USD 24 million subscription by KFW. With this additional allocation, KFW on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has now committed a total of USD 52 million to FEI, bringing FEI’s total equity based to ca USD 145 million and the total potential Fund size to just under USD 400 million. FEI now reached Final Close of its equity.

Today marks the launch of Twenty Degrees, a new specialty cacao business sourcing premium quality cacao beans from around the world. The new venture is backed by Olam Cocoa, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cocoa beans and cocoa ingredients.

The fast-moving foreign exchange market trades more than $6 trillion daily. Understanding why it moves is half the battle. The AFEX Monthly Currency Outlook offers insight into market dynamics and currency pairs that may affect your business. However, we recognise every business is different and may have its own internal hedging policies. Speak with one of our specialists to discuss your business requirements and what works best for you.

Maersk has chosen the new Agility warehouse project in Abidjan to house its new storage, deconsolidation and distribution facility in the economic capital of Cote D’Ivoire.

The newly opened 5,000 SQM facility is designed to handle 3,900 pallet positions and meet the end-to-end requirements of Maersk’s global customers, including those in Retail, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, and Technology.

Nigeria is Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy, but the country has struggled with slow growth and persistent economic imbalances for years. Given the severe shock posed by this year’s sharp global downturn, what does the future hold for Nigeria’s already fragile economy?

This webinar will examine the factors that have held back growth in Nigeria in recent years, and will explain the effects that the pandemic is having on the economy. We will also examine the state of the crucial oil sector, which is suffering due to low energy prices but which will still have to play a key role in driving growth over the coming years.

We are pleased to present the latest edition of our Africa newsletter.

In this month’s newsletter, our focus is on infrastructure and sustainability. As you will see from the various projects in this edition, the two are not mutually exclusive. There are a number of significant projects coming online across the African continent that demonstrate real commitment and ingenuity when it comes to sustainability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses, caused market volatility and triggered asset devaluations across the globe.

Our team of valuation and deal advisory professionals sought the views of local participants from various sectors to assess their views on how lockdown restrictions had impacted their businesses and value drivers.

We also looked to determine whether valuation metrics and models had been adjusted to incorporate the effects of this unprecedented crisis.

Traditionally, the development of risk management plans is tailored to address assessed and quantified risks. There is however always the ‘the unknown factor’. Enter the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, we have faced localised pandemics before, but never one on such a globally synchronous scale, thanks to global travel and trade. It propelled the entire world into unchartered territory as mass economic and travel lockdowns were implemented, and contingency plans were hurriedly rolled out. For many industry sectors and businesses already teetering on the brink, it has been a crisis of unprecedented scale – a black swan event that simply cannot be quantified or dealt with, without the benefit of hindsight.

The #EndSARS movement is at a turning point. In the baseline forecast, institutional inertia militates against substantive reform despite nominal changes; however, decision makers should consider at least three alternative scenarios.

On 20 October, Nigeria’s police and army shot unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki and Alausa in Lagos. Amnesty International says at least 12 protesters were killed in that crackdown. Since then, there has been widespread public disorder in the country.

Nigeria is Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy, but the country has struggled with slow growth and persistent economic imbalances for years. Given the severe shock posed by this year’s sharp global downturn, what does the future hold for Nigeria’s already fragile economy?

This webinar will examine the factors that have held back growth in Nigeria in recent years, and will explain the effects that the pandemic is having on the economy. We will also examine the state of the crucial oil sector, which is suffering due to low energy prices but which will still have to play a key role in driving growth over the coming years.

The webinar will focus on the macroeconomic and political outlook for the Sub-Saharan African region and major regional economies as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to play out, and on the prospects for recovery into 2021.

15th October 2020, Nairobi: 4G CAPITAL GROUP Limited (“4G CAPITAL”), a market leader in technology-driven financial inclusion, Citi, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) and the Ford Foundation have collaborated to expand financial inclusion through the provision of working capital to support the growth of micro-enterprises in Kenya.

4G Capital will receive a KES 285M term loan from Citi that will reach more than 25,000 micro-enterprises. As part of the collaboration, 4G Capital and Citi will work to address the inventory finance needs of last-mile distributors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs). The loan is part of the Scaling Enterprise guarantee facility, a Citi partnership with DFC and the Ford Foundation that enables earlier stage, innovative and inclusive businesses in emerging markets to access local currency commercial bank financing.

Press release

10th October 2020

Mediterrania Capital Partners’ portfolio company Akdital Holding expands its oncology care offering to cover the periphery of Casablanca

Casablanca. Mediterrania Capital Partners, the Private Equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Akdital Holding has opened a new oncology department providing diagnostic and treatment services at the Casablanca Ain Sbaâ private hospital in the Hay Mohammadi Ain Sbaâ prefecture.

Global law firm Clyde & Co advised the Federal Government of Somalia on its new 14-year concession agreement with Turkish contractor Albayrak Group for the rehabilitation and operation of the Port of Mogadishu.

Clyde & Co acted as sole legal adviser to the Federal Government of Somalia on all aspects of the matter, including drafting and negotiating the key transaction documents, as well as providing strategic advice on due diligence and regulatory approvals. Clyde & Co’s mandate was underpinned by the African Legal Support Facility.