MICROCAPITAL STORY: US Private Equity Group Emerging Capital Partners Invests $28m in Financial BC SA of Togo, Parent of FINADEV, a Microfinance Institution

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), an international private equity firm focused on investing in Africa, purchased a USD 28 million stake in Financial BC SA (FBC), a privately held Lomé, Togo-based regional commercial bank. The investment consists of common shares and convertible notes. FBC will use the funds to expand its presence through central and western Africa.

FBC engages in retail and institutional banking in Benin, Togo, Gabon, Chad, and Guinea. In 1998, the bank established FINADEV a desk for its microfinance operations. In 2000, FINADEV was organized as a subsidiary company of FBC and today, there are affiliates in three countries. FBC has 20 branches, serves 11,000 clients, and has a total asset base of over US 350 million. FINADEV has not reported to MIX Market since 2004. No recent financial information could be found on the microfinance subsidiary.

Established in 2000, Emerging Capital Partners has raised over USD 1.5 billion for investment in Africa through six funds. The company has offices in Washington, D.C., the Ivory Coast, South Africa, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Earlier this year, MicroCapital reported on Emerging Captial Partners’ USD 15 million investment in Blue Financial, a South African microfinance institution.

By Iyanna Holmes, Research Assistant

Additonal Resources:

Emerging Capital Partners: Investment in Financial BC SA

FINADEV

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Private Equity Group Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) Invests $15m in Microfinance Institution (MFI) Blue Financial Services (BFS)

MIX Market: FINADEV