A Catalytic Fund of Funds To Unlock Local Funding For West African Private Funds And Small & Medium Enterprises For Inclusive Growth.
Our goal is to help strengthen economies by providing capital and capacity-building services to Local Capital Providers, with a focus on investing with a gender-lens.
Because they are rooted in their markets, local capital providers are best equipped to strengthen Small and Growing Businesses, the most important business segment in any economy, of which a large portion is led and/or owned by women. They excel at deal sourcing, understand the unique financing and capacity requirements of SGBs, and devise innovative financing structures to meet these requirements.
However, the innovative financing structures used by Local Capital Providers limit their access to investment capital, limiting their ability to grow their portfolio, prove their models, and achieve impact at scale.
“Mobilising local capital isn't just about funding SMEs, it's about transforming markets so that investors have confidence, and local enterprises have the resources they need to succeed. That's the mission of Ci Gaba.”
Hamdiya Ismaila
Partner & CEO, Ci Gaba Venture Capital Limited
IFC estimates a $331 billion annual Financing Gap for African SMEs. Available financing is mostly short-term debt with almost no access to patient debt and equity options.
Small & Medium Enterprises
SMEs with positive track record and high growth prospects continue to struggle to access patient capital due to: Lengthy due diligence process required by capital providers; especially when they require capital quickly to seize growth opportunities or do not have the right systems in place. Perception of high risk and uncertainty compared to larger, more established companies.
Local Fund Managers
Local fund managers struggle to raise local funding to invest in SMEs due to: Investors tend to prefer fund managers with a proven history of successful investments. Setting up a Fund is complex, involving navigation of a complex web of regulatory and compliance requirements. Local currency funds are unstable and unattractive to international investors yet are a better match for SMEs.
Local Institutional Investors
Local institutional investors such as Pension Funds represent a long-term capital pool (Ghana: USD 8 billion | Nigeria: USD 22 billion) but have limited internal capacity, struggle to allocate resources to understand private markets, and cannot find institutional-grade vehicles that meet their risk/return requirements.
Technical Assistance
We provide technical assistance to private fund managers covering impact measurement, ESG reporting readiness, and back-office and governance, with priority for emerging managers preparing for institutional investors.
Primary Fund Investments
At Ci Gaba, we invest in a diversified portfolio of Private Equity, Venture Capital, SME-focused funds, and Private Debt funds targeting high-impact opportunities across West Africa. Our typical ticket size ranges from GHS 30 million to GHS 100 million, with a focus on emerging fund managers and vehicles that align with our financial and impact objectives.
Impact & ESG Integration
Ci Gaba is intentional about using capital as a tool to drive measurable progress toward the SDGs, specifically SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 13, and SDG 17. All investments are guided by strong ESG principles, fully integrated into our process from fund selection and due diligence to monitoring and reporting.
Co-investments
We also pursue co-investment opportunities alongside our portfolio funds, allowing us to directly support high-impact businesses that align with our mandate. These co-investments enhance capital efficiency while deepening our developmental impact.
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Primary Fund Investments
The Fund makes primary subscriptions in private funds. Private funds in which the Fund may make Primary Fund Investments shall be professionally managed investment vehicles that generally acquire diversified portfolios of private assets within a defined strategy.
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Co-investments
The Fund may explore opportunistic co-investments alongside other private funds. Co-investments shall be pursued only where the opportunity aligns with the Fund’s mandate, satisfies the same investment and impact diligence standards as primary commitments, and is structured to improve capital efficiency while deepening developmental outcomes. They are intended to complement, not substitute, the diversified exposure achieved through primary fund investments.
Institutional investors such as local pension funds to make local currency investments into local Private Funds.
De-risking to attract local institutional investors such as pensions to make alternative asset investments into productive sectors of the economy through its 30% layer of catalytic capital.
Emerging and experienced private fund managers to raise local funding and attract international investors in local private funds.
The provision of patient and smaller ticket size investment capital needed into SMEs.
A conduit for the provision of long-term patient capital in high-impact and high-growth sectors to drive the attainment of the SDGs.
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A vehicle to unlock local patient capital for local private funds by enabling institutional investors such as local pension funds and insurance companies to make local currency investments in private funds through Ci Gaba.
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A mechanism to de-risk alternative assets investments through the provision of catalytic capital layer to attract local institutional investors to participate in Ci Gaba to significantly increase the supply of risk capital for SMEs.
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A mechanism for emerging and experienced Private Funds & Fund Managers to raise local funding to attract international investors in local private funds, support the growth of local private funds, especially those that can deploy small ticket investments to meet the unmet demand.
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A conduit for the provision of long-term patient capital for catalytic sectors; agriculture/agribusiness, light manufacturing, financial inclusion, healthcare, education, clean energy, and technology to drive significant development impact: jobs, inclusive growth, gender equality, youth employment & climate action.
Ci Gaba is raising GHS 1 billion to back Funds investing in SMEs advancing targeted SDGs in West Africa.
The fund is Ghana-domiciled, open-ended, and in Local Currency (GHS), structured for long-horizon local capital and cedi-aligned SME financing.
Raising up to 70% of Capital from institutional investors mainly Pension Funds in West Africa, and the remaining 30% from Catalytic Investors.
Investing in Private Funds to deliver commercial return and development impact.
The fund development impact is aligned to 6 SDGs with high priority investing with both Gender and Climate lenses.
The team is made up of experienced professionals with rich industry experience in private markets, impact, and the West African ecosystem.
Effective corporate governance structure with a Seven-member Board and 5-member Investment Committee.
Impact Investing
Addressing Missing Middle financing Gap for SMEs.
Contributing to 6 SDGs.
Women Led and Owned.
Local Presence
Deep Understanding of West African Ecosystem.
Strong Network for diverse deal origination.
Mobilise Local Capital.
Team
Ecosystem building, supporting emerging fund managers.
Experienced Team with relevant know-how.
Trusted professionals with proven integrity.
Financial Returns
Unlocking Pension Capital.
Risk adjusted Financial Returns.
De-risked fund.
Impact is core to the investment philosophy and strategy of Ci Gaba and aligns with six (6) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 4 cross-cutting Goals: SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 13 and SDG 17.
The Fund will provide Technical Assistance for funds and their investee businesses in areas such as the development and execution of an impact strategy and impact measurement.
It will also support business process improvement and growth strategy development in portfolio companies for strong financial and development impact return.
SDG 1
No Poverty
SDG 5
Gender Equality
SDG 8
Decent Work & Economic Growth
SDG 9
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
SDG 13
Climate Action
SDG 17
Partnerships for the Goals
US$ 200M
Unlocked in local funding
5+
Local emerging fund managers supported
30%
Women-majority fund manager leadership
250
SMEs supported (40% women-led)
25,000
Direct and indirect jobs created
94,000
Cumulative lives supported
Whether you are a fund manager seeking local capital or an institutional investor looking for impact-aligned alternatives, we would love to hear from you.