Alterra Capital Partners, a firm spun out of Carlyle Group Inc., has announced substantial backing from prominent figures, including Carlyle’s co-founders David Rubenstein and Bill Conway as well as Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, for their Africa-focused fund.
Partner Genevieve Sangudi revealed that Alterra Capital Partners aims to raise up to $500 million with an initial closing that has already secured $140 million in capital.
While larger private equity firms like Carlyle, Blackstone, and KKR have recently scaled back their African investments, smaller firms are seizing the opportunity created by a burgeoning startup landscape in a continent lacking financial and logistical infrastructure.
Alterra Capital Partners plans to direct their investments towards sectors including telecommunications, technology, logistics, healthcare, consumer goods, and retail.
Sangudi emphasized the favorable investment climate, citing Africa’s power challenges as an avenue for private distributed power solutions and the rapid pace of digital transformation driven by technology.
Additional investors in Alterra’s fund include Standard Bank Group, International Finance Corp., Norfund AS, Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH, and Allianz SE’s AfricaGrow fund.
This robust support indicates growing confidence in Africa’s potential for high-yield investments.
Alterra Capital Partners, formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has already exited six companies, returning approximately $600 million to investors. With a dedicated team of 17 professionals, the firm is poised to challenge competitors such as Helios Investment Partners and Adenia Partners in capturing Africa’s emerging opportunities.
Alterra aims to minimize risks by focusing on hard currency-denominated and hard currency-linked investments, ensuring a hedge against currency depreciation.
At least 50% of their investments will be directed toward companies generating the majority of their revenue in US dollars, further safeguarding investor interests.