Helios Investment Partners

What Helios Investment Partners does

Helios Investment Partners is a London-headquartered, FCA-authorized private equity firm founded in 2004 by Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye. It is the largest Africa-focused private investment firm globally, managing over $3 billion in assets under management and operating across 35+ African countries through offices in London, Paris, Luxembourg, Lagos, and Nairobi. The firm runs four complementary investment vehicles: Helios Private Equity (core growth and control buyouts), Helios Climate (CLEAR Fund for climate adaptation and mitigation), Helios Digital Ventures (Series B+ tech and fintech), and Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, a permanent-capital vehicle for sports, entertainment, and lifestyle assets such as NBA Africa, PFL Africa, the Malachite Group, and Zaria Group.

The firm's revenue model follows standard emerging-markets PE economics: recurring management fees charged as a percentage of committed or invested capital across its funds, supplemented by carried interest on exits above specified hurdle rates. It distributes products exclusively through direct Limited Partner relationships, targeting pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, endowments, and family offices globally. Recent commercial activity includes a $750 million commitment for the Fifth Pan-Africa Private Equity Fund and ongoing capital deployment across digital infrastructure (3MDC in Morocco, Telecom Egypt Regional Data Hub, IXAfrica in Kenya), fintech (Paymob, M2P, Nomba, Thunes, SeamlessHR, Moment), climate (SUN Mobility, CLEAR Fund), and industrial platforms (Beta Glass, T2S Group). The firm holds B Corp certification, is a 2X Global Network member, and is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

Name

Helios Investment Partners

Legal name

Helios Investment Partners LLP

Website

https://heliosinvestment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Helios Investment Partners is the largest Africa-focused private equity firm, managing over $3 billion across PE, Climate, Digital Ventures, and Sports & Entertainment strategies. Founded in 2004, it invests growth and control capital in African businesses while serving global institutional investors as Limited Partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Africa-Focused Private Equity

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity (FSANACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Telecom, Networking & Infrastructure Growth Equity (FSANACAJ), Business Services (B2B) Growth Equity (FSANACAD)

Keywords

• Private equity firm
• Venture capital
• Africa-focused investments
• Growth equity
• Portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Helios generates recurring management fees from managing its private equity funds, charged as a percentage of assets under management. These fees provide steady revenue during the fund lifecycle.
2. Carried Interest (Performance Fees): The firm earns carried interest on investment returns above specified hurdle rates in its portfolio companies, representing the primary upside of successful investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Helios Investment Partners is Africa's largest Africa-focused private investment firm managing over $3 billion in assets across three investment strategies: Helios Private Equity (core PE investing), Helios Climate (climate adaptation/mitigation via the Helios CLEAR Fund), and Helios Digital Ventures (Series B+ technology and fintech investments). The firm raises capital from institutional limited partners and deploys it as growth and buyout equity into African companies across 35+ countries, supported by a portfolio operations team and permanent capital vehicles including Helios Sports & Entertainment Group.

Product overview

Helios Investment Partners is Africa's largest private equity firm offering a unified platform of three distinct investment strategies: Helios Private Equity (core PE investing), Helios Climate (CLEAR Fund for climate solutions), and Helios Digital Ventures (digital/tech investments). Additionally, Helios Sports & Entertainment Group operates as a permanent capital vehicle for sports and entertainment assets. The firm manages $3B+ across 35+ African countries with a 21-year track record. The portfolio spans diverse sectors including fintech (Paymob, CAB Payments, Thunes, M2P, Nomba), digital infrastructure (IXAfrica, Helios Towers, 3MDC), healthcare technology (T2S Group, Galatea Bio), climate/clean energy (Sun Mobility, ZOLA Electric, Starsight), sports & entertainment (NBA Africa, PFL Africa, Malachite Group, Zaria Group), and manufacturing (Beta Glass, BIM Morocco).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Helios Private Equity: PE strategy investing where African innovation and demographics meet growth with resilience
• Helios Climate
• Helios Digital Ventures
• Helios Sports & Entertainment Group (HSEG)
• Helios CLEAR Fund

Products and services

• Helios Private Equity Core private equity investment strategy of Helios, providing growth capital and operational support to African businesses across multiple sectors. Targeted at institutional limited partners seeking African PE exposure.
• Helios Climate (CLEAR Fund) Private equity strategy making investments in companies providing climate adaptation and mitigation solutions in Africa, operated through the Helios CLEAR Fund SCSp vehicle. Targeted at institutional LPs seeking African climate exposure.
• Helios Digital Ventures Investment strategy focused on Series B+ technology and fintech companies across Africa, including investments in M2P Fintech, Paymob, Thunes, CAB Payments, SeamlessHR, Moment, and Pave Bank. Targeted at institutional LPs seeking African digital growth exposure.
• Helios Sports & Entertainment Group (HSEG) Permanent capital vehicle within Helios investing in sports and entertainment assets that promote the exhibition and commercialization of African talent. Targeted at long-term capital partners seeking African sports and entertainment exposure.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Tecnotree CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2026A consortium led by Helios Investment Partners is taking Tecnotree private at an enterprise value of approximately €131 million ($157 million). Under private ownership, Tecnotree aims to accelerate growth in high-growth emerging markets, particularly Africa, leveraging Helios's existing investments in data centers and tower companies.
• Fipar-Holding (CDG Invest)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2025Helios partnered with Fipar-Holding (a subsidiary of CDG Invest) to launch 3MDC, a Moroccan digital infrastructure platform. Helios holds 44%, Fipar-Holding holds 40%, with management and founders holding 16%. The platform focuses on carrier-neutral data center, cloud, cybersecurity, and IT services.
• CDG Invest PMEminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025CDG Invest PME transferred ownership of T2S (Moroccan healthcare technology group) to Helios Investment Partners after five years. The transaction marked a shift in T2S's ownership to enable expansion of medical equipment offerings in Morocco and Francophone Africa.
• Frigoglass GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025Helios Investment Partners acquired Beta Glass Plc and Frigoglass Industries Nigeria Limited from Frigoglass Group for up to €100 million. The transaction involves Frigoglass's Nigerian glass business and represents a significant investment in Nigeria's glass packaging industry.
• Telecom EgyptcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2025Helios Investment Partners agreed to acquire a 75-80% stake in Telecom Egypt's Regional Data Hub subsidiary for approximately $177 million, with Telecom Egypt retaining a 20-25% stake post-closing. The transaction values the data centre assets at $230-260 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Actis: Actis is a long-standing global PE firm with deep emerging-markets (including Africa) exposure across energy, infrastructure and growth equity, comparable to Helios's multi-strategy Africa platform.
• Development Partners International (DPI): DPI is one of the largest Africa-focused private equity firms, directly competing with Helios on mid-to-large cap African deals and notably acquiring Solevo from Helios in 2023.
• AfricInvest: AfricInvest is a leading Africa-focused PE and venture firm investing across the continent in financial services, healthcare and consumer sectors, directly comparable to Helios's strategy and ticket sizes.
• Emerging Capital Partners (ECP): ECP is a long-established Africa-focused private equity firm with multiple funds across the continent, directly comparable in mandate, geography and stage focus.

Emerging players

• LeapFrog Investments: LeapFrog focuses on financial inclusion and healthcare investments in Africa and Asia, overlapping with Helios's fintech and T2S portfolio companies but with a narrower thematic mandate.
• Novastar Ventures: Novastar is an Africa-focused venture and growth PE firm investing in consumer and financial services, comparable to Helios Digital Ventures on stage and thesis but smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• British International Investment (BII): BII (formerly CDC) is a UK development finance institution making large-scale PE and direct investments across Africa, with which Helios competes and partners via co-investments.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): IFC's PE/VC arm makes direct equity investments across Africa, with overlap to Helios's ticket sizes and sectors — notably Wale Ayeni, Helios Digital Ventures co-head, previously ran IFC's direct venture book.
• Africa Finance Corporation (AFC): AFC is a pan-African infrastructure-focused investment institution making equity and debt investments, comparable to Helios Climate and digital infrastructure strategies.
• Brookfield Africa: Brookfield's emerging-markets platform invests in African infrastructure, real estate and renewables, providing a comparable — though larger — institutional peer for major deals in digital infrastructure and climate.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helios-investment-partners

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A12 records

Investments56 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helios Investment Partners