GroFin, a multi-national specialist Small and Medium Enterprises ( SME s) finance and Development Company, on Thursday announced the final closing of the GroFin Africa fund at $170million against the initial target of $150 million.

GroFin is a multi-national specialist SME finance and development company offering an innovative combination of risk capital and business development assistance to viable enterprises.

According a statement released by GroFin, this fund will be invested in roughly 500 companies over a period of five years, making it the largest growth finance fund to date globally, which is a remarkable achievement for Africa.

Eric Rwigamba, General Manager for GroFin Rwanda, said in a statement that GroFin’s unique platform of combining financial assistance with business development expertise has been tailor made for entrepreneurs that wish to start or grow their businesses.

"The existence of the GroFin Africa Fund equips us to continue our support of Rwandan SMEs, offering them opportunities previously unavailable to them,” he said.

This is GroFin’s fourth fund for Africa focussing on making risk finance and business support available to entrepreneurs.

The fund has to date injected $17 million to 50 transactions and is currently considering investment into a further 24 companies to the value of $8 million.

The fund invests in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa through GroFin’s in-country investment teams.

It targets business firms that struggle to grow because of lack of access to capital and business development assistance and as a result, between $100,000 to $1 million has been invested in SMEs operating in various sectors of the economy ranging from manufacturing to retail and services.

"This is a clear demonstration of the high levels of interest that investors have for smaller investments in Africa that deliver both quantifiable investment and development returns,” said Jurie Willemse, Managing Director of GroFin in the statement.

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