This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.
Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Verod Fund III will provide growth capital and value add to SMEs primarily in Nigeria and Ghana, thereby improving their productivity and job creation. This will help increase labour markets absorption capacity in the formal sector in a context of accelerating demographic growth in Anglophone West Africa.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Promote economic opportunities by creating jobs (SDG targets 8.5, 9.3) |
|
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How?
| How? |
|---|
|
CDC's commitment will support Verod III to provide capital and value add to up to twelve SMEs in Anglophone West Africa, supporting the SMEs' growth and direct employment creation. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Employees |
West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra, Leone and the Gambia) |
Primarily low-income and middle-income. |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
Supporting the creation of an estimated 1,500 new jobs over the lifetime of our investment. |
The impact is likely to be deeper in economies with higher unemployment rates. At the time of investment, 93 per cent and 90 per cent of all employment in Nigeria and Ghana respectively is in the informal sector. Workers employed in the informal sector of both countries record higher rates of poverty, 72.3 per cent in Nigeria (vs. 43.6 per cent of workers in formal employment) and 25.6 per cent in Ghana (vs. 12.6 per cent of workers in formal employment). Access to employment is expected to have a sustained impact on stakeholders' livelihoods. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
|
Grid score
| Grid Score
To help us direct our investments, we previously used a tool called the Development Impact Grid. It scored investments out of four, based on two factors: the difficulty of investing in a country and the propensity of the sector to generate employment. This tool was used for investments until the end of 2021. Since 2022 it has been replaced by the Impact Score. |
|---|
2.9-3.1 |
Risk
Execution Risk
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Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We are working closely with the fund manager to improve its existing ESMS, including delivering an action plan.
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2024
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D3517
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- Africa
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Communications & IT services, Consumer - Health, Consumer - other services, Financial services
- Investment type :
- Fund
- Start date :
- December 2019
- Amount :
- $20m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Fund Manager:
- Verod Capital Management Limited
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- Mauritius
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
Investments made by this fund into companies:
For further information about these companies, visit http://www.verod.com/
| Investment name | Country | Region | Sector | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i-Fitness Centre Limited | Nigeria | West Africa | Consumer - other services | March 2024 | Active |
| ISON Infotel Limited | Africa, Ghana, Nigeria | Africa, West Africa | Communications & IT services | March 2024 | Active |
| Medplus Limited | Nigeria | West Africa | Consumer - Health | March 2022 | Active |
| Pan-African Towers Limited | Nigeria | West Africa | Communications & IT services | October 2023 | Active |
| Prime Pharmacy Ltd | Ghana | West Africa | Consumer - Health | June 2024 | Active |
| Prime Pharmacy Ltd | Ghana | West Africa | Consumer - Health | June 2024 | Active |
| Tangerine General Insurance Limited | Nigeria | West Africa | Financial services | September 2020 | Active |
