Norfund focuses our direct investments on scalable enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa, partnering with robust industrial or financial counterparts. Our investment segments include agribusinesses and manufacturing. Growing sustainable scalable enterprises drives industrialization, economic growth and job creation.
Key achievements in 2023
Scalable Enterprises
committed
created by companies in the agribusiness and manufacturing portfolio*
increase in revenue in the agribusiness and manufacturing portfolio*
*Excluding EFP
Funds
committed
created by companies in the funds Norfund is invested in*
increase in revenue in the funds Norfund is invested in*
*Only covering funds within the scalable enterprise portfolio
Jobs are vital to reducing poverty, generate income and taxation, provide security, and can enable knowledge and skills development. In most countries, private enterprises create the vast majority of jobs. This is especially true in developing countries, where more than 90% of jobs are in the private formal and informal sectors.
The current macroeconomic situation in many markets is challenging. Fuel and electricity costs have increased, food inflation is rampant, and access to capital has become both more difficult and more expensive for individuals and businesses. Providing patient capital and contributing to economic growth in developing countries is therefore crucial.
The agribusiness sector employs a large share of the Sub-Saharan population. This sector is highly labor intensive. However, the sector remains largely underdeveloped in terms of productivity and participation in the most value-adding activities in global value chains. Investing in businesses throughout the agribusiness value chain can enable job creation, increase competitiveness, and enable import substitution and economic growth in the countries where Norfund invests. Supporting and enabling agricultural production on the African continent is also critical to improve food security.
Similarly, manufacturing holds great potential as an enabler of economic growth and transformation in Africa. Few countries have developed their economies without developing a strong manufacturing base.
In Africa, more than 80% of the jobs are within the informal sector. This means that the workers are unregistered, have no benefits such as insurance or sick leave schemes and have limited access to training. As such, it is crucial to develop formal job opportunities and ensure that these are quality jobs where workers’ rights are protected.
Norfund’s investments in scalable, sustainable businesses help to create jobs, generate government revenue and provide the goods and services that people need.
Lack of finance is a significant obstacle to business growth. The volume of foreign direct investment in developing regions is low.
Growth capital, sector expertise and investors who are willing to take risks are needed to unlock the potential of scalable enterprises in developing countries.
Norfund invests in businesses both directly and through funds. Our direct investments are focused on scalable enterprises within agribusiness and manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa. These investments are always made in collaboration with strong industrial or financial partners.
As a direct equity investor, Norfund acts as a responsible owner. We assist developing businesses in becoming robust and sustainable while supporting their growth strategies. Norfund also provides advice to identify and mitigate environmental and social risks.
Fund investments enable us to reach a broader range of businesses and sectors together with fund managers with more local knowledge and business insight than we have capacity to do on our own. Investments are funneled through four different strategic areas called (1) large cap funds, (2) SME-funds, (3) venture funds and (4) purpose funds. The large cap funds create jobs and growth through established and well-run companies with a potential to further scale and expand its business activities. SME funds access smaller businesses that traditionally don’t have sufficient access to the capital markets. Venture funds support the establishment of new businesses, most often with a technological approach to their markets which enable them to create new and innovative business models. Lastly, purpose funds target fragile states and areas in developing countries where private capital is most scarce, and where our investments are highly additional.
Strategic ambitions
Norfund has defined the following ambitions for scalable enterprises for the strategy period 2023-2026:
- Create 80,000 jobs through direct investments and funds, whereof 10,000 jobs created in direct investments in agribusiness and manufacturing
- 19 billion NOK revenue increase, where 3 billion revenues created in direct investments in agribusiness and manufacturing
Investments and results in 2023
Scalable enterprises account for 31.7% of Norfund’s total portfolio. By the end of 2023, the portfolio included 34 direct investments and 58 fund investments.
committed in 2023
committed in total SE portfolio

Photo credit: Hatch Africa
Investments per region
Sub-Saharan Africa is the priority region of direct investments in agribusiness and manufacturing. Norfund’s staff in South Africa, Kenya and Ghana play key roles in identifying and monitoring our direct investments.
Investments per region in 2023
Total portfolio per region
Highlights of 2023
new investee companies
new fund investments
follow-on investments
ANB
In October 2023, Norfund announced an investment in the South African company ANB. ANB is a vertically integrated fruit company that produces and distributes citrus and tropical fruits to markets in Europa, Asia and North America.
ANB is active in the entire fruit value chain, from developing and commercializing cultivars (citrus and other sub-tropical fruit), tissue culture laboratory facilities, nurseries for plant propagation, fruit farming and packing, as well as fruit marketing and branding activities. The company permanently employs 2,200 people and at the height of the citrus season, this figure rises to above 6,000.

As a result of global warming, extreme weather is becoming both more frequent and unpredictable. In South Africa, recent years have seen hailstorms becoming a greater threat to agriculture, with significant harvests being greatly damaged by unpredictable hailstorms. Norfund’s investment in ANB will finance the construction of netting infrastructure to protect the harvest from hail, wind and excessive sun exposure.
Around 42% of the group’s 2,556ha of citrus is currently under netting, and the capital injection will result in 1,704ha (67%) being protected against the elements. This will help enable ANB to produce higher volumes of improved quality fruit, and ultimately improve ANB’s resilience to climate change.
Miniplast
Miniplast Ghana Ltd is a leading plastics manufacturing company in Ghana and the West African sub-region. Established in 1988, Miniplast specializes in injection molding and blow molding, with its key offerings being products made from High/Low Density Polyethylene (H/LDPE), Polypropylene (PP) and PET Plastics.
In 2020, Miniplast established an in-house plastics recycling business segment that processes locally sourced plastic waste into recycled plastic materials. These recycled plastics are then used by the company in manufacturing its finished products and sold to third parties. Headquartered in Accra, Miniplast has a current production capacity of 41 tons of plastic per day, and directly employs over 650 people, whilst indirectly giving employment to over 200 more. The company also has waste collection and grinding hubs in Kumasi and Tamale.

Norfund’s investment will go toward purchasing new manufacturing equipment and supporting Miniplast to expand into new product offerings. The investment will further finance new machinery to increase the company’s recycling capacity to 1,700 tons a month, further substituting locally sourced recycled materials for imported plastic resins, and hence, reducing production costs in the process. The investment in Miniplast is expected to create more than 850 jobs across the plastics value chain.
Through this investment, Norfund is supporting efforts to develop a circular economy in Sub-Saharan African markets to help tackle Ghana’s waste management challenges. Norfund will also look to support Miniplast in its efforts to institutionalize what has historically been a family-run business, particularly on the environmental, social and governance fronts.
Scalable Enterprises direct investments portfolio
Investment | Country | Investment year | Sector | Instrument | Ownership share | Domicile | Committed (MNOK) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP) | Regional | 2023 | Forestry and logging | Funds | 37% | Singapore | 750.6 |
AgDevCo | Regional | 2022 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Equity | 8% | United Kingdom | 203.4 |
Phatisa Food Fund 2 | Regional | 2021 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Funds | 14% | Mauritius | 192.5 |
Lake Harvest Group | Regional | 2013 | Fishing and aquaculture | Loans Equity | 33% | Mauritius | 168.7 |
European Financing Partners SA | Global | 2006 | Investment funds | Loans Equity | 8% | N/A | 263.4 |
Agrivision | Zambia | 2012 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Equity | 24% | Mauritius | 161.6 |
Nawiri Group Ltd. | Regional | 2013 | Tourism | Loans Equity | 32% | Mauritius | 142.5 |
Hela Investment Holdings | Regional | 2022 | Manufacture of textiles | Loans | 0% | Mauritius | 142.4 |
Balaji EPZ Limited | Kenya | 2023 | Manufacture of textiles | Loans | 0% | Kenya | 127.4 |
Kagera Sugar Limited | Tanzania | 2020 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans | 0% | Tanzania | 126.0 |
FES Limited | Regional | 2020 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Loans Equity | 23% | Mauritius | 122.2 |
OH Ecosystems | Nigeria | 2023 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans | - | Delaware | 122.1 |
Basecamp Explorer | Kenya | 2010 | Hotels | Equity | 34% | Kenya | 36.4 |
Lilongwe Dairy (2001) Limited | Malawi | 2020 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans | 0% | Malawi | 112.9 |
SAMANU | Ethiopia | 2022 | Manufacture of food products | Equity | 8% | Mauritius | 110.8 |
Miniplast Limited | Ghana | 2023 | Manufacture of rubber and plastics products | Loans | - | Ghana | 106.8 |
ANB | South Africa | 2023 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Equity | 0% | South Africa | 106.6 |
Marginpar Group | Regional | 2018 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Equity | 26% | Mauritius | 102.8 |
Valency International Trading SARL | Ivory Coast | 2022 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Loans | 0% | Singapore | 101.7 |
Nouvelle Mici Embaci (NME) | Ivory Coast | 2023 | Manufacture of paper and paper products | Equity | 26% | Ivory Coast | 86.3 |
Neofresh | Regional | 2017 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans Equity | 42% | Mauritius | 84.2 |
Sundry Foods | Nigeria | 2019 | Manufacture of food products | Equity | 16% | Nigeria | 80.8 |
Continental Blue Investment (CBI) Ltd. | Ghana | 2022 | Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products | Equity | 10% | Ghana | 70.3 |
Redsun Raisins and Nuts | South Africa | 2022 | Manufacture of food products | Equity | 23% | South Africa | 70.0 |
Vertical Agro (Sunripe & Serengeti Fresh) | Regional | 2014 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans | 0% | Mauritius | 61.8 |
Seba Foods | Zambia | 2021 | Manufacture of beverages | Loans | 0% | Zambia | 61.0 |
Terramar | Mozambique | 2022 | Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Equity | 33% | Mauritius | 58.4 |
Synercore Holdings Proprietary Limited | South Africa | 2022 | Manufacture of food products | Loans | 0% | South Africa | 54.4 |
Freight in Time | Regional | 2015 | Transportation and storage | Equity | 24% | Mauritius | 53.1 |
Lona Group | South Africa | 2022 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Equity | 17% | Mauritius | 48.7 |
African Century Infrastructure Services Ltd. | Regional | 2014 | Other service activities | Loans Equity | 20% | Mauritius | 35.7 |
Nyama World Malawi Ltd | Malawi | 2017 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities | Loans | 0% | Malawi | 33.6 |
African Century Real Estates Ltd. | Mozambique | 2015 | Construction of buildings | Loans Equity | 21% | Mauritius | 33.1 |
Associated Foods Zimbabwe (AFZ) | Zimbabwe | 2016 | Manufacture of food products | Loans | 0% | Zimbabwe | 15.3 |
African Century Nampula | Mozambique | 2017 | Real estate activities | Loans Equity | 32% | Mozambique | 6.1 |
Afrinord Hotel Investments | Regional | 2005 | Tourism | Loans Equity | 20% | Denmark | 23.7 |
Africado Ltd. | Tanzania | 2009 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Equity | 33% | Mauritius | 4.5 |
Scalable Enterprises funds portfolio
Investment | Country | Investment year | Sector | Instrument | Ownership share | Domicile | Committed (MNOK) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Development Partners International III | Regional | 2019 | Investment funds | Funds | 4% | Guernsey | 394.3 |
AfricInvest Fund IV | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 7% | Mauritius | 296.7 |
Navis CLMV | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 17% | Cayman Islands | 247.6 |
Helios IV | Regional | 2021 | Investment funds | Funds | 8% | Guernsey | 246.9 |
Vantage Mezzanine Fund IV - USD | Regional | 2021 | Sector-agnostic fund | Funds | 10% | South Africa | 243.4 |
ECP Africa Fund IV | Regional | 2018 | Investment funds | Funds | 6% | Mauritius | 225.1 |
Meridiam Africa Fund II | Regional | 2021 | Investment funds | Funds | 4% | France | 222.2 |
Alterra Africa Accelerator Fund | Regional | 2022 | Investment funds | Funds | 16% | Mauritius | 204.0 |
Adenia Capital V | Regional | 2022 | Investment funds | Funds | 9% | Mauritius | 202.9 |
Verod Capital Growth Fund III | Regional | 2019 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Mauritius | 197.3 |
FIPA II | Regional | 2016 | Investment funds | Funds | 38% | Luxembourg | 171.3 |
KV Asia Fund II | Regional | 2022 | Investment funds | Funds | 7% | Cayman Islands | 158.5 |
African Rivers Fund IV | Regional | 2023 | Sector-agnostic fund | Funds | TBD | Mauritius | 152.6 |
Vietnam Investments Fund IV | Vietnam | 2021 | Investment funds | Funds | 18% | Cayman Islands | 152.4 |
CASEIF IV | Regional | 2020 | Agribusiness fund | Funds | 26% | Canada | 150.6 |
Cepheus Growth Capital Fund | Ethiopia | 2018 | Investment funds | Funds | 20% | Mauritius | 146.9 |
Openspace Ventures III | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 8% | Cayman Islands | 145.2 |
African Rivers Fund III | Regional | 2021 | Sector-agnostic fund | Funds | 19% | Mauritius | 144.6 |
Agri-Vie II | Regional | 2017 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Mauritius | 138.3 |
GroFin SGB Fund Limited Partnership | Regional | 2015 | Investment funds | Funds | 19% | Mauritius | 125.6 |
Fanisi Capital Fund II | Regional | 2017 | Investment funds | Funds | 43% | Mauritius | 118.3 |
Excelsior Vietnam | Vietnam | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 19% | Singapore | 112.7 |
AFMF: ASEAN Frontier Markets Fund | Regional | 2021 | Investment funds | Funds | 20% | Singapore | 103.8 |
Norrsken22 Fund | Regional | 2023 | Sector-agnostic fund | Funds | 5% | Sweden | 102.5 |
Novastar Ventures Africa Fund III | Regional | 2023 | Sector-agnostic fund | Funds | TBD | United Kingdom | 101.7 |
Ascent Rift Valley Fund II | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 9% | Mauritius | 99.0 |
Cambodia Laos Myanmar Development Fund II | Regional | 2015 | Investment funds | Funds | 16% | Singapore | 94.7 |
Novastar Ventures East Africa Fund | Regional | 2013 | Investment funds | Funds | 13% | Mauritius | 83.3 |
MOF II | Myanmar | 2018 | Investment funds | Funds | 14% | Cayman Islands | 80.8 |
Novastar Ventures Africa Fund II | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 7% | Mauritius | 75.0 |
TNB Aura Fund II | Regional | 2022 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Singapore | 74.2 |
CASEIF III | Regional | 2014 | Agribusiness fund | Funds | 24% | Canada | 73.5 |
Ascent Rift Valley Fund Ltd | Regional | 2013 | Investment funds | Funds | 13% | Mauritius | 71.5 |
Spear Africa Holding II | Regional | 2017 | Investment funds | Funds | 19% | Mauritius | 70.2 |
CORECO | Regional | 2012 | Other financial services | Funds | 22% | Delaware | 68.9 |
Neoma Africa Fund | Regional | 2008 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Mauritius | 67.8 |
Kinyeti Capital Ltd | South Sudan | 2012 | Other financial services | Equity | 50% | South Sudan | 63.1 |
EcoEnterprises Partners III, LP | Regional | 2018 | Agribusiness fund | Funds | 5% | Ireland | 58.3 |
Fundo de Investimento Privado-Angol | Angola | 2009 | Investment funds | Funds | 26% | Luxembourg | 52.9 |
CarDekho SEA | Indonesia | 2023 | Fintech | Equity | 3% | Indonesia | 51.1 |
BPI Africa LLC | Regional | 2015 | Investment funds | Funds | 17% | Mauritius | 51.0 |
Frontier Fund | Bangladesh | 2010 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Cayman Islands | 50.9 |
Vantage Mezzanine Fund IV - ZAR | Regional | 2021 | Investment funds | Funds | 6% | South Africa | 48.8 |
Africa Health Fund (Aureos) | Regional | 2011 | Investment funds | Funds | 9% | South Africa | 42.7 |
ACI Motors Ltd | Bangladesh | 2021 | Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers | Equity | 5% | Netherlands | 41.6 |
GroFin Africa Fund | Regional | 2008 | Investment funds | Funds | 9% | Mauritius | 40.2 |
Oasis Africa Fund | Regional | 2017 | Investment funds | Funds | 10% | Ghana | 39.6 |
Solon Capital Holdings | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 30% | Mauritius | 35.8 |
Nordic Horn of Africa Opportunities Fund | Somalia | 2018 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Canada | 35.2 |
Frontier Fund II | Bangladesh | 2016 | Investment funds | Funds | 10% | Cayman Islands | 30.4 |
Frontiir Co. Ltd. | Myanmar | 2019 | Information service activities | Equity | 2% | British Virgin Islands | 26.9 |
Vantage Mezzanine Fund II | Regional | 2011 | Investment funds | Funds | 5% | South Africa | 21.6 |
Voxtra East Africa Agribusiness Ini | Regional | 2011 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Funds | 30% | Norway | 20.6 |
Neoma South-East Asia Fund II | Regional | 2010 | Investment funds | Funds | 2% | Canada | 19.3 |
APIDC Biotech Fund | India | 2005 | Investment funds | Funds | 8% | Mauritius | 16.0 |
Antler East Africa Fund I | Regional | 2020 | Investment funds | Funds | 11% | Cayman Islands | 14.9 |
Cambodia-Laos Development Fund | Regional | 2009 | Investment funds | Funds | 20% | Luxembourg | 8.6 |
Aureos Southern Africa Fund | Regional | 2003 | Investment funds | Funds | 25% | Mauritius | 7.5 |
CASEIF II | Regional | 2007 | Agribusiness fund | Funds | 14% | Bahamas | 4.0 |
Aureos East Africa Fund | Regional | 2003 | Investment funds | Funds | 20% | Mauritius | 3.9 |
Katapult Africa | Regional | 2022 | Investment funds | Funds | 16% | Rwanda | 2.5 |
Aureos West Africa Fund | Regional | 2003 | Investment funds | Funds | 26% | Mauritius | 2.2 |
Angola Capital Partners LLC | Angola | 2009 | Investment funds | Equity | 48% | Delaware | 1.4 |
Evolution One Fund | Regional | 2009 | Energy | Funds | 7% | South Africa | 1.2 |
Lafise Investment Management | Bahamas | 1999 | Financial institutions fund | Equity | 20% | Bahamas | 17.3 |