Private equity giant Actis raises $500m for African investments

A global private equity business that focuses on emerging markets has raised $500m for its third Africa real estate fund.

London-headquartered Actis has confirmed that the nine-figure sum will primarily be invested in office, retail and industrial developments in the capitals of seven to eight African countries.

So far, Actis has ploughed over $3bn into African firms across 23 countries, with more than $570m of that invested in the continent’s burgeoning financial services sector.

According to AFK Insider, the company set a target of $400m for the Africa Real Estate Fund 3 (ARE3), but passed its original goal by $100m after securing backing from institutional investors.

Actis’ ARE3 fundraising lead, David Morley, commented: “This successful fundraising is a further sign of confidence from our investors in our ability to identify the most compelling opportunities across Africa.

“With this new vehicle, they will satisfy part of the demand for institutional quality real estate in some of the fastest growing cities globally.”

The firm’s previous Africa fund closed four years ago after raising $278m.