eleni LLC, a Nairobi, Kenya-based newly formed company which will incubate and support the formation of commodity exchanges across Africa, has received a $5m equity investment.
Backers included Morgan Stanley and IFC (International Finance Corporation), part of the World Bank Group, which will invest up to $2.5m.
Led by CEO Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, and co-founders Mr. Keith Thomas and Mr. Jawad Ali, eleni, which designs, builds, and supports the operations of commodity exchange eco-systems in frontier markets. The company’s business model is based on delivering turnkey projects on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis, combining private investment with know-how, technology and management to support exchange projects.
eleni expects to launch several such projects in 2013. Beyond the initial funding, each country or regional exchange project will involve the formation of a private investor consortium.
A third investor, the 8 Miles Fund, an Africa-focused private equity fund, will join the investment round within a month, along with support from the African Development Bank.
FinSMEs
23/01/2013