Investment Fund for Health in Africa II
The healthcare sector is chronically underfunded in Africa. While access to long-term capital is in general difficult for SMEs, SMEs in the healthcare sector are even worse off, as the sector is perceived as very risky. Despite the inherent potential of the sector, few international investors are focusing on investing in the SSA healthcare sector. Through this investment, SIFEM intends to not only capture the high growth potential, but also to bring additional capital where it is most needed from a development impact perspective.
An investment via a specialized fund in the healthcare sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is strongly aligned to development finance objectives. The continent features some of the poorest healthcare statistics in the world. Basic healthcare infrastructure, facilities, and trained personnel are lacking. In many countries there is a failure to consistently deliver minimum levels of health services and goods. With a focus on investing in the healthcare value-chain, the Fund will provide much needed assistance to improve access to quality healthcare products and services.
The Fund will be managed by African Health Systems Management Company B.V., a Dutch investment firm specialized in the SSA healthcare sector. The Fund Manager believes that “the only sustainable way to improve the state of healthcare in SSA is to support sustainable businesses to reach scale, at which point a broader range of quality services and products can be provided at a lower price to a broader segment of the population.”
