Australia-based global impact firm According to reports by Business Daily Africa, Palladium which is a global impact firm based in Australia, unveiled a 4.1 billion Kenyan Shillings fund for investments into agribusiness value chains and off-grid clean energy ventures within Kenya.
The fund which was launched last week and called the ‘Palladium Impact Fund I’, will also provide debt and quasi-equity investments to firms in Nigeria and Ghana as well. It aims to seal its first close later on in the year (2019).
Palladium made it known via a statement, that it will manage the fund which is currently anchored by a 517 million Kenyan Shilling investment of its own capital.
Investors in the Palladium Impact Fund I, will include family offices, institutional investors, pension funds, and foundations.
The Palladium Impact Fund I, will also invest between 25.8 million Kenyan Shillings and 206.9 million Kenyan Shillings in both small and medium sized enterprises originating from emerging markets for the “expansion, growth at scale and working capital associated with growth.”
Palladium stated that the investments, will be through a mix of debt and quasi-equity instruments with an average term of about six years.
In addition, the fund will also apply a “gender lens” which will prioritize benefits to women through “economic empowerment and opportunities”.
The Head of Palladium Impact Investments; Andrew Tillery, made it known in a statement, that the firm had chosen to invest in “empowering African women” for its first impact investment fund, adding that, “Women perform the majority of agricultural activities, own a third of all firms, and are key to the welfare of their families.”
The firm (Palladium), stated that the fund will aim to alleviate poverty and impact 500,000 households, in addition to creating at least 3500 full time jobs, 60 percent of which will be for women.
Palladium added that its work with aid agencies like USAid, the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has contributed to “a significant pipeline” of investment opportunities, as well as local networks and a strong sense of “what real impact takes”.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Palladium; Christopher Hirst announced that the firm is “ideally placed” to use its extensive development work internationally, as well as its global reach, to source for deals for potential credible investment opportunities.
Palladium’s investments on the african continent also include a shea nut harvesting and processing business in Ghana as well as off-grid solar energy power firm; PEG Africa, which is based in West Africa.
According to their official website, Palladium works with governments, businesses, and investors, to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Palladium, is in the business of making the world a better place, and believes that systemic approaches as well as collaborative models, are the way to achieve progress and success.
The company works at the intersection of commercial growth and social progress..land helps leaders increase their bottom line through sustainable and profitable business strategies.
