UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co, which manages $243 billion in assets, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French investment bank Bpifrance to launch an investment partnership dedicated to African private equity.

The two companies will aim to deploy up to EUR350 million ($416 million) through fund and direct investments in private equity and venture capital, with a focus on high-growth African startups, SMEs and mid-caps, they said in a joint statement Wednesday.

Through this new program, the two partners intend to make joint investments in top-tier African private equity and venture capital funds, with a focus on regional, multi-country and pan-African funds and fund managers with a proven track record, building upon the expertise and network of Bpifrance.

Bpifrance and Mubadala had previously participated in the French Emirati Fund in 2014 and the Innovation Partnership in 2017, with approximately EUR 1 billion of joint investments in French companies (directly and through funds), and a EUR 1 billion commitment by Mubadala into Bpifrance’s flagship Lac1 Fund dedicated to listed French multinationals, the statement said.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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