Italy based Impact investor Opes-Lcef, through the Restart Fund, will support East African SMEs affected by the Covid-19 emergency crisis by injecting capital using a strong gender lens approach.
Africa is a continent of small businesses. There are job losses, stagnating growth & paucity of funds exacerbating existing vulnerabilities, We believe this has created an urgent need to sustain developmental progress made thus far and consequently paves the way to embrace the new world by working towards sustainability, inclusivity & energy efficiency.
The Restart Fund will mitigate short-term liquidity constraints due to Covid-19 for otherwise well-functioning impact enterprises and support them by issuing recoverable grants.
Key sectors of focus
- Sustainable Agri
- Clean Energy
- Education/ Skilling
- Mobility & Transportation
Key terms
- Instrument: Recoverable Grants
- Grant Timeline: 5 years with moratorium
- Ticket Size: Up to $100k
Requirements from end beneficiaries
Impact driven enterprises affected by Covid directly or indirectly OR those enterprises which have come up with innovative solutions to help their stakeholders affected by the crisis
For profit enterprises that are East Africa domiciled Those with demonstrated financial need only due to issues related to the Covid crisis
About OPES-LCEF
Opes-LCEF is an impact investor that provides catalytic capital to early stage social enterprises in emerging markets. The entity currently has a portfolio of 17 Investments across 11 countries, 7 of which operate in East Africa. The combined entity has over 15 years of impact investing experience.
Contact: arthi.ramasubramanian@opesfund.eu / elisabet.nyquist@opesfund.eu
Source: OPES-LCEF