The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, recently approved an equity investment of EUR 12 million (USD 13 million) in Yeelen Financial Fund, an investment vehicle that aims to strengthen financial institutions in the eight nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which also is known by its French acronym UEMOA.
Stefan Nalletamby, the Director of ADB’s Financial Sector Development Department, explains that “this fund will help strengthen level-2 and -3 financial institutions, enable them to comply with regulatory requirements and unlock funding for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] and populations underserved by the traditional banking system, in particular women, young people and populations in rural areas.” The target financial institutions include banks, microfinance institutions, insurance companies and financial technology firms (fintechs).
Yeelen Financial Fund is a 12-year private equity fund that was launched in 2017 by Yeelen Capital, a consortium majority-owned by Cauris Management. Cauris manages four funds focusing on the West African financial sector from offices in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. With a goal of reaching EUR 65 million (USD 70 million) in volume, Yeelen Financial Fund had capital of approximately EUR 34 million (USD 37 million) as of 2019. Yeelen Financial Fund is domiciled in Mauritius and Lomé, Togo.
The African Development Bank Group was founded in 1964 and provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa. It consists of three entities, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigerian Trust Fund. Owned and funded by its member governments, the bank has a mandate to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. As of October 2019, AfDB has total capital of USD 208 billion provided by shareholders from its 80 member countries, including 54 in Africa.
Founded in 1994, the membership of UEMOA comprises Benin, Burkina, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Its mission is to promote economic growth by nurturing the region’s financial institutions.
Sources and Additional Resources
AfDB press release on Yeelen:
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/la-banque-africaine-de-developpement-entre-au-capital-du-fonds-dinvestissement-yeelen-financial-fund-lp-34759
AfDB press release on its capital increase:
https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/african-development-bank-shareholders-approve-landmark-115-billion-capital-increase-signalling-strong-support-32344
Yeelen Capital background:
https://caurismanagement.com/en/funds-under-management/yeelen-financial-fund/
Yeelen Capital, Cauris Management data:
https://caurismanagement.com/en/2017/08/29/yeelen-financial-fund/
Prior MicroCapital coverage of AfDB:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-african-development-bank-afdb-mastercard-collaborate-on-financial-inclusion-in-africa/
Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
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