50253 - SMEV Cardinal II

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

50253

Company Name

CARDINALSTONE CAPITAL ADVISERS GROWTH FUND II LP

Date SPI Disclosed

Dec 12, 2025

Country

Africa Region

Region

Africa

Projected Board Date

Jan 12, 2026

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Pending Signing

Last Updated Date

Dec 13, 2025

Department

Equity Portfolio Management

Industry

Funds

Previous Events

Approved : Jul 17, 2017

Sector

Small Business Fund

Project Description

CCA Growth Fund II LP (CCAGF II or the Fund) is a generalist fund that will make equity and equity linked investments in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, Ghana, and opportunistically in Francophone West Africa (primarily Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal) across various sectors such as consumer goods and services, industrials, healthcare, agribusiness and financial services.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Development Impact

The main impact of the Fund is increased access to growth capital and value creation for SMEs. CCAGF II will provide access to equity capital for SMEs located in Nigeria, Ghana, and opportunistically in Francophone West Africa. The Fund will support value creation for its investees through institutionalization and operational support to help them expand regionally. The Fund is expected to invest at least 70% of its capital in the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) countries, and 80% of the Fund's investees are expected to be SMEs contributing to the SME Ventures Platform's objectives for IDA- and SME-focused investments. Beyond the Project, it is expected to support the creation and development of a nascent Private Equity (PE) market in the region by increasing market competitiveness. The Nigerian and Ghanaian PE markets remain largely underdeveloped, with low volume and number of deals, and limited investment targeting the small-cap segment. Fundraising has stalled, driven by macroeconomic uncertainties, political instability, and limited institutional investor engagement. In this context IFC's investment and advisory will be critical to supporting the Fund Manager to scale up and signal the viability of investments in these markets and it is expected to deepen the PE market in Nigeria and Ghana by enabling a local fund manager to scale and strengthen its track record. Moreover, it is also expected to attract new institutional investors such as pension funds and help deepen the market.

IFC's additionality is both financial and non-financial. Financial additionality involves the provision of IFC's own equity at the Fund's first close, thereby supporting the Fund Manager in achieving its overall target fund size. Moreover, IFC's participation in the first close will help signal confidence in the Fund Manager and mobilize capital from new investors considering participating in a subsequent close. In recognition of the mobilization and additional value-added support, IFC will receive a mobilization fee. IFC’s non-financial additionality through Knowledge, Innovation and Capacity Building includes continued support through SMEV Advisory to promote sustainable growth and dedicated SMEV Technical Assistance (TA) to enhance capacity building for the Fund Manager and portfolio SMEs.

Indicator	Metrics	Comments
Direct Employment (#) Operations And Maintenance	individuals
Number of Senior Management Positions	individuals
Number of Women In Senior Management	individuals

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The Project involves a generalist Fund in West Africa, specifically Nigeria and Ghana. The Fund Manager generally invests in a portfolio of companies across sectors such as agribusiness, industrials, healthcare, education (excluding K–12), consumer goods and services, and financial services.

For the Project, the pipeline includes consumer goods, healthcare mainly in the form of the distribution of pharmaceutical products, and agri-business.

The Project will not support Exclusion List activities, coal-related activities, private K-12 education, or E&S high-risk activities that may include a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on Indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage or d) significant occupational health and safety risks. The E&S risks associated with the Fund Manager’s investment activities are considered to be medium and can be readily addressed through mitigation measures. These risks typically include safeguarding and gender-based violence (GBV), waste and hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, resource efficiency, biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, and occupational health and safety, among others. As such, the Project has been categorized as FI-2 according to IFC’s Sustainability Policy. The applicable E&S requirements for this Project are the IFC Exclusion List, host country E&S laws and regulations, and the IFC Performance Standards.

The Fund Manager is an existing IFC client with satisfactory performance and has an E&S management system (ESMS) to identify and assess the E&S risks and impacts related to its investment activities, in line with their ESG Policy. The ESMS comprises detailed procedures for evaluating E&S risks of portfolio companies and how their E&S performance will be monitored. The organizational roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and the ESMS applies to all investments, specifying applicable criteria. The external communication mechanism is in place. The ESMS is considered satisfactory and in line with IFC PS1.

The Fund Manager has a Human Resources department with an HR Policy in place, detailing the recruitment strategy, the business code of ethics, disciplinary processes and a grievance mechanism. The HR policy also considers the contract workers for the Fund Manager. The HR Policy, however, is not clear on sexual harassment in the workplace, and how it is addressed. The Fund Manager’s Occupational Health and Safety strategy is not clearly demonstrated, even though the HR policy alludes to the importance of the safety of employees in the workplace. The HR policy, including the approach to OHS management, is thus not fully aligned with IFC PS2.

The Fund Manager has an E&S team that is comprised of the Head of Operations and an Operations Associate. The Head of Operations has oversight of Environmental and Social Governance issues for the fund and works with the legal officer and personnel responsible for E&S matters at the portfolio companies. The position of Operations Associate was vacant at the time of the appraisal, and it is important that appointment be made as the role is key in the delivery of the ESMS at the Fund Manager.

The Fund Manager is to enhance their E&S systems by incorporating consideration for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and gender-based violence (GBV) in the E&S due diligence process, and the identification of supply chain risks in investments with portfolio companies and the management thereof. The Fund Manager will update their HR policy to include a section on the organization’s approach to SEAH and have a detailed Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) plan. The appointment of the Operations Associate to undertake E&S work should be prioritized.

To support the implementation of the ESMS, following commitment, IFC will review the first three E&S due diligence reports that the Fund Manager undertakes for their transactions, and reporting and monitoring will be undertaken at least annually.

S.no	Title	Anticipated Completion Date
1	Environmental and Social Management System	03/31/2026
2	Environmental and Social Management System	06/30/2026
3	Labour and Working Conditions	06/30/2026

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

CCA Growth Fund II LP
Olufemi Ogunjimi
Partner
+ 234 1 448 9900
Femi.ogunjimi@cardinalstone.com
5 Okotie Eboh Street | Ikoyi | Lagos | Nigeria
CardinalStone Capital Advisers – Private Equity Investor

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IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

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