Zimbabwean private equity firm Takura Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in distressed agro-business Interfresh Limited, shortly after snapping up a 16% stake in diversified construction firm Radar Holdings. A beneficiary of funding from the UK’s development investor CDC Group, Takura Capital was established in 1997 to target growing and struggling companies. Since then, the investor has spread its wings throughout the Southern African Development Community. Over the years, the fund has grown and revived companies including bread-maker Lobels, which nearly closed in 2011 due to financial difficulties, and Cairns Holdings, a former listed agro-manufacturer that went insolvent in 2012. In 2015, Takura Capital invested in the country’s largest beef producer Montana Meats, and Talwant Trading, the franchisee for Fruit and Veg City Africa International.
The potential of private equity remains largely untapped in Southern African countries outside of South Africa. Three hundred and sixty-four deals worth $4.4bn were recorded in the region between 2015 and 2020, according to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s 2020 Annual African Private Equity Data Tracker. The Covid-19 pandemic has not helped matters. Private equity final closes across Africa as a whole dropped to $1.2bn in 2020 from $3.8bn in 2019 as the pandemic hit. The region’s economies have been ravaged – Zimbabwe’s GDP shrank by 8% last year, South Africa shrank by 7% and Botswana by 8.3%. Even in a tough environment, some firms have managed to engineer successful fundraisings. Secha Capital, a South Africa-based investor that invests in SMEs throughout the region, closed funding in 2020 of $30m. Its investments include energy startup IG3N and Cultura Fresh, a hydroponic farm, among other businesses. Meanwhile, Moshe Capital, a South Africa-based investor, launched a $23.5m investment fund targeting established businesses.