Convergence Partners, the private equity investment firm controlled by businessman and entrepreneur Andile Ngcaba, has announced the first close of its third fund after raising US$120-million.

The Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) is targeting a final size of $250-million. The company now has more than $400-million of capital under management.

Investors in CPDIF include the CDC Group (the UK’s development finance institution), the US International Development Finance Corporation, the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation and Proparco (the private sector arm of the Agence Française de Développement — AFD Group).

“CPDIF investments will be driven by the infrastructure needs of the emerging growth themes in the digital infrastructure ecosystem, specifically fibre, wireless, data centres and towers, as well as 5G, cloud, Internet of things, artificial intelligence, fintech and network virtualisation,” Convergence said in a statement on Thursday.

CPDIF’s first investment was in Ctrack, which was announced earlier this year. “As a data analytics business servicing the fleet management and insurance industries, the business sits at the intersection of AI and IoT with all its solutions being cloud delivered,” Convergence said.

‘Crucial time’

“We are very pleased with the level of support from both repeat and new investors and believe this reflects our solid track record and the opportunity CPDIF presents at this crucial time in both a tech and African context,” said CEO Brandon Doyle in the statement.

Since its founding in 2006, Convergence Partners has invested in submarine cable systems, geostationary satellites, terrestrial long-haul, metro and access fibre, wireless networks, and data centres, as well related fields. – © 2021 NewsCentral Media