Ghana’s first privately managed fund of funds has entered the market after Savannah Impact Advisory announced the successful first close of the Ci Gaba Fund of Funds at GH₵383 million, setting the vehicle on course toward its GH₵1 billion target.
The fund, launched in Accra on March 25, 2026, will not invest directly in businesses. Instead, it will channel capital to specialised venture capital and private equity fund managers operating across sectors including agribusiness, technology, healthcare, clean energy, and light manufacturing. Those intermediary funds will in turn deploy capital into small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Ghana and select West African markets, including Nigeria, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Chief Executive Officer of Savannah Impact Advisory, Hamdiya Ismaila, described the structure as a “mother fund” approach, designed to bring large-scale capital closer to viable businesses through managers with sector-specific expertise. “We are now open for business. We are in the market to raise a billion Ghana cedis,” she said at a post-event media engagement in Accra.
More than two-thirds of the GH₵383 million committed at first close came from domestic institutional investors, with Ghanaian pension funds among the anchor participants. Backers include FSD Africa Investments, which committed $7.5 million, alongside Stanbic Investment Management Services, CAL Asset Management Company Limited, AXIS Pension Trust, Enterprise Trustees, and development finance institution FMO of the Netherlands.
The heavy domestic participation reflects a policy shift in Ghana, where pension and insurance funds are expected to allocate at least five percent of their assets under management to venture capital and private equity by 2026, under the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Compact.
Ms. Ismaila said the deliberate emphasis on local capital reflects the realities of tightening global funding conditions. “If we want to develop, we must develop on the back of our own money,” she said, adding that scaled private businesses, rather than government, should be the primary engine of job creation if given access to patient, long-term financing.
Ci Gaba is positioned as the first private fund of funds domiciled in West Africa, distinct from government-backed vehicles such as the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF). The fund’s name means “progress” in Hausa.
