Àrgentil Capital gets $75m backing for SME fund across Nigeria, Ghana

Àrgentil Capital Management Limited has secured international backing to advance plans for a $75 million private equity fund targeting small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, in a move aimed at unlocking domestic pension capital for a segment long starved of funding.

The Lagos-based firm was selected for the Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers, a programme run by Convergence Blended Finance and Global Affairs Canada, according to a statement released on the sidelines of the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.

Chosen from more than 180 applicants, Àrgentil is one of six fund managers in the inaugural cohort, gaining access to grant funding and technical support to structure its proposed Àrgentil Investment Fund L.P.

The fund is designed to channel capital into the so-called “missing middle” — businesses too large for microfinance yet underserved by banks and traditional private equity — a gap widely seen as a drag on job creation and economic growth across West Africa.

At the core of the strategy is a dual-currency structure aimed at overcoming foreign exchange risks that have historically limited participation by domestic institutional investors. By blending hard currency with local currency pools, the model seeks to make private equity more accessible to pension funds, a largely untapped source of long-term capital in the region.

“SMEs are the backbone of the West African economy, yet remain undercapitalised,” said Gbenga Hassan, managing partner at Àrgentil. “This selection is a significant milestone and a clear vote of confidence in the West African investment landscape.”

He added that the structure is being refined to de-risk local participation while attracting patient foreign capital.

Support from the accelerator will be used to strengthen the fund’s foreign exchange framework, expand its local currency sleeve and deepen engagement with potential investors ahead of launch.

Leah Pedersen, senior director at Convergence’s accelerator programme, said the initiative would help validate a blended finance model capable of mobilising both international and domestic capital into underserved markets.

Blended finance, which uses concessional funding to crowd in private investment, is increasingly being deployed to address structural funding gaps in emerging markets, particularly where currency volatility and perceived risks deter commercial investors.

For Nigeria and Ghana, where small businesses account for a large share of employment but face persistent credit constraints, the success of such a structure could determine whether pension assets are more actively channelled into the real economy.

If replicated, the model may offer a pathway for scaling private capital flows into high-growth sectors while deepening local capital markets across the region.