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Advanced Finance & Investment Group
Papa Madiaw Ndiaye established AFIG Funds in Mauritius, drawing on a career that began on Wall Street with Salomon Brothers and J.P.
Advanced Finance & Investment Group
Papa Madiaw Ndiaye established AFIG Funds in Mauritius, drawing on a career that began on Wall Street with Salomon Brothers and J.P. Morgan before he helped launch the landmark AIG African Infrastructure Fund at Emerging Markets Partnership. His co-founders are not publicly listed, but the firm's investment committee is led by CEO Ndiaye and CIO Patrice Backer, a fellow Wharton-Lauder graduate who previously co-managed a $7 billion credit derivatives desk at J.P. Morgan. The firm fields two regional vehicles. The $122 million Atlantic Coast Regional Fund closed in 2008 and the $135 million AFIG Fund II followed in 2016, both built to create regional champions. Strategy spans growth equity, early-stage, restructurings and co-investments across West and Central Africa. Confirmed portfolio companies include FSDH Merchant Bank, NEM Insurance and AXIS Pensions; deal-level co-investors named in public filings include CDC Group (now BII), which committed $15 million to AFIG Fund II, and the African Development Bank, which took a stake in ACRF. The team also invested in Primrose Properties Ghana, a real-estate developer. AFIG operates from Mauritius with additional offices in Senegal and the US. Director Kelechi Okoro, a Nigerian national, sits on the boards of five African companies and joined in 2013 from Argentil Capital Partners. The firm's five-pillar value-creation model — HR, financial controls, IT, ESG — is applied across every holding. Recent public communications highlight the AfDB's capital increase into ACRF to support private-sector growth, though the precise timing of the transaction was not independently dated by the firm. Unlike many West African GPs that concentrate capital in Nigeria or Ghana alone, AFIG was designed from inception as a Francophone-Anglophone bridge — the partnership is domiciled in Mauritius, deploys capital via Senegal and routes deal flow through US relationships. That three-hub architecture lets the team source from both the WAEMU zone and English-speaking West Africa under one operational umbrella, a structural choice that shapes its deal pipeline.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Africa
Country
Mauritius
City
Port Louis
Corporate office
Port Louis, Mauritius
Additional offices
Senegal · USA
Principals
Papa Madiaw Ndiaye
CEO
Patrice Backer
Chief Investment Officer
Kelechi Okoro
Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at AFIG Funds?
CEO Papa Madiaw Ndiaye and CIO Patrice Backer lead the investment committee. Ndiaye was previously a partner at EMP and co-manager of the $407 million AIG African Infrastructure Fund; Backer ran a $7 billion credit derivatives desk at J.P. Morgan before joining. Director Kelechi Okoro, based in Nigeria, executes and monitors portfolio positions.
How is AFIG Funds structured — is it a family office, a fund manager, or a hybrid?
AFIG is an independent private-equity asset manager, not a family office. It manages closed-end commingled funds raised from development finance institutions, institutional investors and private LPs. The firm has not disclosed any permanent co-investment vehicle, but its DIR structure places Ndiaye and Backer as the key principals.
What is AFIG Fund II, and how does it differ from the earlier ACRF vehicle?
AFIG Fund II is a $135 million regional fund launched in 2016 with a mandate to invest in African companies capable of becoming regional blue chips. The earlier Atlantic Coast Regional Fund, at $122 million, closed in 2008 and focused on accelerating local champions. Both funds operate across West and Central Africa with similar growth and expansion-stage strategies.
Which sectors does AFIG Funds actively invest in, and which does it avoid?
Confirmed portfolio positions span financial services (FSDH Merchant Bank, AXIS Pensions), insurance (NEM Insurance), and real estate (Primrose Properties Ghana). The firm has not publicized sector exclusions, but its five-pillar ESG framework — HR, financial controls, IT, internal controls, and ESG — is applied to every holding, suggesting a bias toward governance-intensive industries.
Does AFIG participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
AFIG makes direct equity and growth-capital investments, conducts restructurings, and engages in co-investments alongside its limited partners. It does not market itself as a fund-of-funds, and all publicized investments are direct deal-level positions in operating companies.
Where does AFIG source its proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources through its three-hub architecture: the Mauritius headquarters handles fund administration, the Dakar office covers Francophone West Africa, and the US office connects to international co-investors. Ndiaye’s deep ties to Senegalese government circles and Backer’s Wall Street network provide additional origination channels.
What is the relationship between AFIG and the Senegalese government?
CEO Papa Madiaw Ndiaye served as Special Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs to the President of Senegal in 2000 and chaired the Presidential Economic & Financial Advisory Council. There is no disclosure of current government mandates, but those historical ties inform the firm’s regional access.
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