South Africa private equity firm Convergence Partners has announced that it has closed its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at $296 million, surpassing its initial target by over 18%.
According to a statement by the firm, the close was backed by a combination of existing and new investors in the fund, which include global and regional development finance institutions (DFIs), pension funds, and financial institutions based in Europe and Africa. The Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund is the firm’s biggest fund to date and brings its total funds under management to over $600 million.
The fund is mainly focused on investing in digital infrastructure opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa, including fibre networks, data centres, wireless, towers, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).
Additionally, the fund is aimed at developing and supporting initiatives that promote access to education, financial services, healthcare, and other essential services through digital technologies.
Speaking on the close, Brandon Doyle CEO and founding partner of Convergence Partners, stated that, “This closing is just the beginning, and we look forward to working with our investors and partners to build the digital infrastructure required to support the growth of the region’s digital economy.”
Convergence Partners’ portfolio companies include venture capital firm 4DI, IT infrastructure solutions provider Dimension Data, and fibre network operator Fibreco.
The Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund was launched in June 2020 and had a first close of $120m in July 2021.
