It was a tale of two extremes in Africa's private capital deal world last week. While a private equity real estate fund announced a significant final close, with the exception of one deal, direct investments in companies were on the small side, all under $20 million each.

The deal with the biggest dollar commitment came from South Africa's  Public Investment Corporation or PIC, the investment manager for the  Government Employees Pension Fund or GEPF. They're backing SA Home Loans with approximately $720 million to boost housing financing for government employees and other qualifying members of the public. It fits in neatly with the development investment mandate handed down by the pension fund to PIC by the GEPF. 

The biggest fund close to take place in Africa for some time was also announced last week.  Novare Private Equity held a $350 million final close for its second property investment fund at the end of June. The capital will be deployed in a number of retail, office and mixed-use developments in Nigeria, Mozambique and Zambia. A first close was held for the fund in mid-2014 and it has already has a number of projects underway. The pipeline of additional deals is apparently pretty healthy too.

In other deal news,  DEG, Germany's development finance institution, has raised its stake in ZEP-RE by putting down another $14.63 million and take its holding in the Kenya-headquartered company to almost 15%. The capital will be used to fuel the re-insurer's expansion plans. DEG originally invested $15 million in the firm in late 2014.

TLG Capital is backing crowdfunding platform  Homestrings in an undisclosed deal. The investment is being made via the private equity firm's Credit Opportunities Fund which was launched in January this year with a target of $150 million. The capital is being earmarked to ramp up Homestring's expansion activities, boosting their sales, marketing, origination and technology investment plans.

Meanwhile, publicly-listed Australian mining company  Burey Gold is a recent beneficiary of an oversubscribed private placement, successfully raising A$11.6 million from a mix of institutional and professional private capital investors both in Australia and overseas. The capital will be used to accelerate exploration at its Giro Gold project, which consists of two exploitation permits covering a surface area of 610km², lying within the Kilo-Moto Belt, a significant under-explored greenstone belt located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some interesting perspective in a  Financial Times' special report on Tanzania last week. With an economy that is among the fastest-growing in Africa, Tanzania is no longer an economic backwater. "Investing in Tanzania" looks at the current landscape in the country for investors, the opportunities presented as well as some of the challenges that they can anticipate. 

In sector news, a report from  A.M. Best flags up the risks posed to growth and stability in Africa's insurance sector by a combination of the commodity price slump, China's slowing economy and the US Fed's tightening monetary policy. Their report, which was published last week, assesses the impact of these factors on both life and non-life insurance markets.

And finally, some interesting people moves reported over the last week. Kevin Latter is joining  J.P. Morgan's South Africa office as joint senior company officer and the firm's head of investment banking for Sub-Saharan Africa. His main focus will be on growing the New York-headquartered bank's presence on the continent. Hoda Atia Moustafa is to be the new Regional Head for Africa at the  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency or MIGA, the World Bank's political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm. And Paul Badrick, who  has been acting-CEO of  Grant Thornton's South Africa office since February, has been officially confirmed in the position as of July 1st.  He joined Grant Thornton in 2013 following the firm's  merger with PKF where he had been a partner since 2006.

Public Investment Corporation, the investment manager for South Africa's Government Employees Pension Fund, is committing R10.5 billion or approximately $720 million to SA Home Loans in a bid to provide housing financing to government employees and other qualifying members of the public. The investment fulfills part of a development investment mandate being carried out by PIC on behalf of the pension fund.

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DEG, the German development finance institution, has invested an additional $14.63 million in Kenyan re-insurer ZEP-RE, increasing its holding in the privately-owned company to 14.93%. The capital will be used to support the firm's operational momentum, which saw the firm's underwritten business grow from $125 million in 2014 to $138.8 million in 2015.

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TLG Capital, the Africa-focused private equity firm, is backing Homestrings, the crowdfunding platform for emerging and frontier markets in an undisclosed deal. The capital will be used to fund Homestring's expansion plans, helping strengthen the firm's sales and marketing, technology and origination activities. The investment is being made via TLG's Credit Opportunities Fund which launched in January this year, looking to raise $150 million.

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Publicly-listed Australian mining company Burey Gold is a recent beneficiary of an oversubscribed private placement, successfully raising A$11.6 million from a mix of institutional and professional private capital investors both in Australia and overseas. The capital will be used to accelerate exploration at its Giro Gold project, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company will issue approximately 215 million shares priced at 5.4 cents per share.

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Novare's second property fund hits $350mln final close

// africacapitaldigest.com

African private equity real estate investor Novare held a $350 million final close for its second property fund at the end of June. The fund, which will be listed in the Mauritius Stock Exchange by the end of July, will invest in a portfolio of new property developments in a number of countries including Nigeria, Zambia and Mozambique .

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Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream JV approved  

// africacapitaldigest.com

South Africa's Competition Commission has given the go ahead for Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream to launch Froneri, a joint venture which will sell products across 20 countries, including South Africa. According to the original press release announcing in April this year, Nestlé and PAI Partners, R&R Ice Cream's private equity owners, will each have a 50% equity share in the new venture. 

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With average GDP in Africa outpacing much of the developed world, the continent's attraction to domestic, regional and international investors looking to boost their returns. A combination of the commodity price slump, China's slowing economy and the US Fed's tightening monetary policy have all combined to present a challenge to growth and stability. A.M. Best have just published a report assessing the impact if these developments on the life and non-life insurance markets.

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An interview with Michael Gera, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Energy Access Ventures, on how market conditions are well-suited for off-grid electrification in Africa. He looks at the new technologies available today, the obstacles rolling out the technologies and how firms monetize the technology.

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