Last year S-RM and Invest Africa jointly hosted multiple events, notably the Mining Series 2024 in Cape Town, and several panels in London and Nairobi focused on sustainable African investment

LONDON, United Kingdom, January 30, 2025/APO Group/ — 

Global corporate intelligence and cyber security consultancy S-RM (www.S-RMinform.com) has announced the continuation of its strategic partnership with Invest Africa (www.InvestAfrica.com), a leading business platform promoting trade and investment in Africa, for a second year.

S-RM and Invest Africa joined forces in January 2024 with the goal of supporting business leaders and investors with critical decision making and providing them with the confidence to navigate risk and build resilient companies on the continent.

Last year S-RM and Invest Africa jointly hosted multiple events, notably the Mining Series 2024 in Cape Town, and several panels in London and Nairobi focused on sustainable African investment.

Our partnership with S-RM has proven to be a tremendous asset to our network, providing critical insights and solutions in a rapidly evolving business landscape

These events brought together key global stakeholders with vested interests in Africa and promoted robust and collaborative solutions to investment on the continent. Throughout the year, S-RM continued to engage with Invest Africa’s members and wider network, supporting them on a range of integrity and ESG due diligence remits.

Building on this success, S-RM and Invest Africa aim to further empower businesses and investors in 2025. Key goals include expanding the delivery of actionable intelligence tailored to the evolving geopolitical and regulatory landscape through strategic events and co-curated thought leadership. Additionally, S-RM will headline three Invest Africa events this year: Mining Series (February), Africa Debate UK (July), and Africa Debate UAE (September). 

With a nearly two-decade-long presence in Africa and over 50 practitioners currently based on the continent, S-RM is uniquely positioned to continue providing Invest Africa’s member network with industry-leading intelligence, resilience, and response solutions.

Chantelé Carrington, CEO, Invest Africa, said: “Our partnership with S-RM has proven to be a tremendous asset to our network, providing critical insights and solutions in a rapidly evolving business landscape. As we embark on the next phase of this collaboration, we remain committed to enabling confident decision-making and resilience-building for businesses across Africa. Together with S-RM, we look forward to unlocking further opportunities for trade and investment across the continent in 2025.”

Ian Massey, Head of Corporate Intelligence, EMEA, S-RM, said: “We are delighted the partnership with Invest Africa is not just rolling into a second year but that we are building on our success in 2024. I am excited for the year ahead and in particular our greater involvement in Invest Africa’s event calendar, starting with the Mining Series next month.” 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Invest Africa.

The collective efforts of these esteemed partners underscore SAIS25’s mission: to transform Africa’s sports sector through strategic investments, infrastructure development, and policies that foster long-term sustainability

LAGOS, Nigeria, January 30, 2025/APO Group/ — 

The Sports Africa Investment Summit (SAIS25) is more than an event—it’s a movement to unlock Africa’s potential by investing in sports infrastructure for a sustainable future. This mission wouldn’t be possible without the support of visionary partners committed to driving innovation, policy development, and investment in Africa’s sports industry.

Meet the Partners

Afreximbank – A leading financial institution fostering trade and development across Africa, Afreximbank brings its expertise in funding large-scale projects, making it a key player in sports infrastructure financing.

Bank of Industry (BOI) – As Nigeria’s leading development finance institution, BOI plays a critical role in driving local economic growth. Through strategic financing, BOI is supporting the expansion of Nigeria’s sports sector, creating opportunities for businesses and communities to thrive.

International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) – A global leader in sport integrity, ICSS works across continents to promote safety, transparency, and governance in sports. Their partnership with SAIS25 reinforces the need for robust security frameworks that protect investments and ensure the long-term sustainability of Africa’s sports ecosystem.

UN Global Compact Network Nigeria – Championing responsible business practices, this network is instrumental in promoting sustainability within sports investments, ensuring that SAIS25 initiatives align with global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.

NESH Foundation – With a focus on Nigerian entrepreneurship, NESH plays a vital role in connecting sports investment with local economic empowerment, creating opportunities for homegrown businesses to thrive.

Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) – As a Nigerian policy think tank, NESG drives economic transformation by shaping investment-friendly policies across multiple sectors, including sports. Their expertise in fostering collaboration between governments, private sector players, and investors positions them as a key advocate for a sustainable and profitable sports industry across Africa.

Why This Matters

The collective efforts of these esteemed partners underscore SAIS25’s mission: to transform Africa’s sports sector through strategic investments, infrastructure development, and policies that foster long-term sustainability.

As SAIS25 approaches on February 17-18, 2025, in Lagos, we invite investors, policymakers, industry leaders, athletes, sports talent managers, sports merchandisers, fans and enthusiasts to join us in shaping the future of African sports.

Register now at https://apo-opa.co/4gjbCZg and be part of the conversation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Sport Nigeria Ltd.

The investment will support UsPlus’ expansion of working capital solutions tailored to Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating across various critical sectors in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, January 30, 2025/APO Group/ — 

Verdant Capital (www.Verdant-Cap.com) is pleased to announce that its Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund (the “Fund”) has completed its fifth investment of USD 2 million, structured as junior convertible debentures in UsPlus Limited (“UsPlus”) incorporated in South Africa. UsPlus has greatly impacted the financial landscape of SMEs in South Africa by using working capital to support sectors and projects that are essential to the sustainability of the country’s society and environment. This investment will enable UsPlus to expand its invoice factoring services across key sectors in South Africa, reinforcing the company’s role as a pivotal player in the South African invoice factoring vertical. 

Since its inception in 2015, UsPlus continues to offer essential working capital solutions to businesses across the country, that have historically been unable to access traditional forms of financing. While the company supports a wide range of sectors, it has a current emphasis on funding women and sustainably led ventures. 

UsPlus’ service offering is guided by a developmental agenda which is mainly focused on supporting local manufacturers, logistics providers, local farmers, renewable energy players and service providers, among others, to improve the competitiveness of such entities by enhancing their ability to (i) meet the procurement requirements of large multinational corporations and (ii) promote financial inclusion for SMEs that historically have been unable to access traditional forms of working capital solutions.  

The Fund’s investment will strengthen UsPlus’ capital position and help “crowd-in” more senior debt funding into the business to further grow its balance sheet. The Fund is attracted by UsPlus’ business model as it aligns with the Fund’s mission to use its funding to provide financial solutions that have the broadest possible impact on society, while benefiting from fundamental credit risk mitigants. 

This investment will yield a return which is aligned with the Fund’s return target. 

The Fund is investing in inclusive financial institutions on a pan-African basis, with a focus on digitally enabled financial institutions providing services to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The Fund invests in hybrid capital instruments including subordinated debt, mezzanine, preference shares and stapled investment structures. The Fund has a size of USD 38 million (target of USD 100 million at Final Close in H1 2025).  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Verdant Capital.