Convergence Partners, the technology-focused private equity firm chaired by Andile Ngcaba, has closed a new digital infrastructure fund at US$296-million (R5.1-billion).

The Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) surpassed its initial targeted fundraising amount by 18%, “despite subdued private capital fundraising on the continent in 2022”, the company said on Monday.

The fund is Convergence Partners’ largest to date and brings total funds under management to about $600-million (R10.3-billion).

“The close was backed by a combination of existing and new investors comprising leading global and regional development finance institutions, pension funds and financial institutions based in Europe and Africa,” it said.

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CPDIF was launched in June 2020 and had a first close of $120-million in July 2021. Its focus is on digital infrastructure opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, including investments in fibre networks, data centres, wireless infrastructure, towers, cloud, internet of things and artificial intelligence.