Milost Global, an Africa-focused private equity firm headquartered in New York, is launching a $1 billion SME fund in partnership with investment holding company Monnaie Africa. Isilo, as the General Partnership will be know, will be domiciled in Mauritius, with Milost holding a 70% interest in the firm. 10-year, generalist private equity fund will target buyout and restructuring opportunities in small and medium-sized enterprises on the continent.

Mediterrania Capital's latest fund has received a capital commitment from another development finance institution.  The Africa Development Bank has approved a $15 million equity investment in the planned €250 million fund which will invest in companies in North Africa as well as a select number of sub-Saharan countries.Over the last few months, several DFIs including the IFC, EIB and EBRD have indicated they are committing capital to the fund.

Imara Holdings is acquiring Kura Capital to create one of the larger pan-African asset management companies with $200 million in assets. The deal is expected to close once standard regulatory approvals have been granted. Imara is owned by FWA Financial, an investment company backed by nine family offices from the USA, Europe and South Africa with significant experience of investing Africa and within the financial services sector.

Finally, there were a couple of interesting industry published last week. In Rand Merchant Bank's annual "Where to invest in Africa" report, Egypt takes the top spot for 2018, displacing South Africa for the first time since the report's inception. And a  new report from the African Technology Foundation and the Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations partnership takes a continental, regional, and industry specific look at the evolution of technology ecosystems on the continent.