Fund vehicle

The Central Africa SME Fund (CASF)

Compiled from public sources

The Central Africa SME Fund (CASF) is a pioneering private equity and venture capital fund established to provide risk capital and technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR). Launched as part of the IFC’s SME Ventures program, the fund targets businesses in post-conflict and fragile frontier markets where access to formal finance is severely limited. CASF employs a strategy of providing "growth capital" through equity, debt, and mezzanine instruments to help local entrepreneurs scale operations. Beyond capital, the fund provides intensive "hand-holding" through pre- and post-investment technical assistance to improve corporate governance, financial reporting, and operational efficiency.

Manager

XSML Capital Limited, Central Africa Investment Corporation

Vintage

2010

Strategy

Private Equity

Target size

$25m

Size

$19m

Status

Fully Invested