Goodwell Investments launches of a new EUR50 million fund

Goodwell V is a new impact investment company founded by Goodwell Investments.

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor funds, Goodwell V seeks to channel capital to fast-growing, scalable small and medium-sized businesses from private investors, family offices, and foundations.

The cornerstone feeder for a new institutional fund that Goodwell expects to open in the second half of this year is Goodwell V.

Over the last five years, the firm’s local teams in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have made more than 20 investments across Africa, effectively balancing significant social impact with a market rate of return for investors.

Goodwell V would create a new portfolio of companies in Africa, with at least a third centered on financial inclusion, a fifth on agriculture, and the rest on mobility and other high-impact sectors like education and healthcare.

Existing portfolio companies such as Copia, MFS Africa, Good Nature Agro, Tomato Jos, and Nomanini will receive additional funding from the fund.

“We are convinced that companies led by local entrepreneurs are the core drivers of sustainable development in Africa,” says Goodwell Director of Communications Nico Blaauw. As a result, the best way to achieve sustainable development in Africa is to fund early-stage companies that are best placed to address key community challenges. Our portfolio companies are growing at a rate of more than 50% per year on average. They have been able to endure the pandemic’s dangers by doing what they do best: ensuring that vital goods and services such as food, transportation, healthcare, and financial services are available. We’re looking forward to continuing our journey.”

“When we met Goodwell in 2011, we were still at a very early stage and had no formal institutional investors on board,” says Tayo Oviosu, Founder and CEO of Paga, a Goodwell Investments portfolio firm. Goodwell’s first investment helped us get started, and the second one, in 2015, boosted our growth even further. In 2020, we will have served over 17 million users across a network of over 35,000 agents. We see an opportunity to link every adult in Nigeria to financial services, and we’re thrilled Goodwell agrees!”

Goodwell Investments has a long-standing commitment to impact investing, having given over EUR 150 million in funding to 35 inclusive businesses across Asia and Africa over the last 15 years while also reporting top-quartile returns, the company stated.