Catalysing private sector development to reduce poverty in Africa

Published: Sept. 15, 2021, 3:31 p.m.

As part of AVCA's special series, Achieving the SDGs through African Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC), Paulette Mbeya, Research Analyst at AVCA, speaks with Ross Strike, Investment Manager - Venture Capital at CDC Group, about how CDC tackles socio-economic challenges through private sector development and investment, and with a focus on Goal 1 \u2013 No Poverty \u2013 how the DFI supports fund managers and portfolio companies in addressing poverty on the continent.

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The Covid-19 pandemic left more than 30 million people across Africa in extreme poverty, and the African Development Bank predicts that this number will rise to 39 million by the end of 2021. When the pandemic hit, CDC Group adopted a three-pillared approach \u2013 preserve, strengthen and rebuild \u2013 to help partners safeguard impact and weather the crisis by responding to economic and health challenges and to provide support beyond the pandemic, from recovery to prosperity, through counter-cyclical funding and by being one of the first investors to re-enter the market.

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