Lilium Capital

What Lilium Capital does

Lilium Capital Group is a privately held, Pan-African-focused investment holding company domiciled as an LLC in the United States (headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a regional office in Port Louis, Mauritius). The firm pursues a long-term, patient-capital strategy across nine declared verticals: financial services, mining, oil and gas, power, real estate, healthcare, technology, FMCG, and sports and entertainment. Its principal operating assets are aggregated under Vista Group Holding and include Vista Bank (a Pan-African banking institution operating across five African countries and one European market, built from former BNP Paribas and Société Générale subsidiaries plus acquired First International Bank operations in Gambia and Guinea), Vista Assurances (insurance), and Simba (digital payments and telecom). The company is led by Chairman and CEO Simon Tiemtore, supported by Managing Partner/COO Yassin Bayo, Managing Partner Abib Gaye, VP Strategy Aristide Ouattara, and Director of Corporate Finance Babajide Saba, whose prior roles span Afreximbank, Morgan Stanley, Skadden Arps, Deloitte Afrique, Standard Chartered, and Chapel Hill Denham.

Operating model: as a holding company, Lilium captures value through controlling equity stakes in independently operated subsidiaries rather than via direct customer relationships. Deal flow and capital sourcing are routed through strategic partnerships — most notably Afreximbank and other institutional financiers — and the firm distinguishes itself by acquiring and rebranding regulated financial businesses (banking and insurance) at scale rather than operating as a traditional fund-style private equity manager. Pricing, fee schedules, and term sheets are not publicly disclosed; investment terms are negotiated on a deal-by-deal basis. Geographic coverage spans Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and Mauritius, with the website (liliumcapital.com) available in English and French.

Strategic narrative and recent positioning: the group combines local operating expertise with international institutional relationships to acquire and transform regulated or scalable businesses across Africa's structurally underpenetrated sectors. Recent moves include a 2025 partnership with FEDA and the Didier Drogba Foundation to co-own Team Drogba in the E1 World Championship (bringing the first E1 event to Lagos), continued geographic expansion of Vista Bank, and the build-out of insurance (Vista Assurances) and digital payments/telecom (Simba) verticals. No revenue, headcount, AUM, valuation, or financial performance figures are disclosed in available source data, materially limiting external validation of scale.

Name

Lilium Capital

Legal name

Lilium Capital Group, LLC

Website

https://liliumcapital.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lilium Capital Group is a privately held, Pan-African-focused investment holding company that acquires and operates controlling stakes in regulated and scalable businesses across financial services, insurance, technology, mining, energy, real estate, healthcare, FMCG, and sports, led by Chairman and CEO Simon Tiemtore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Holding Company

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN), Technology, Software & IT Services (FSABACAJ)

Keywords

• Private equity holdings
• Pan-African banking
• Investment holding company
• Financial services investment
• Emerging market advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Lilium Capital Group is a pan-African focused investment holding company that deploys patient, strategic capital into diversified sectors including financial services, mining, oil and gas, power, real estate, healthcare, technology, FMCG, and sports and entertainment. The firm operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries such as Vista Bank (pan-African banking), Vista Assurances (insurance), and Simba (digital payments and telecom technology), while pursuing strategic acquisitions and growth investments across African markets.

Product overview

Lilium Capital Group operates as a diversified investment holding company with a portfolio of subsidiary brands and investments across multiple sectors. The core financial services offering centers on Vista Bank (Pan-African banking) and Vista Assurances (insurance), while the technology portfolio includes Simba (digital payments and telecom). Sports investment is represented through Team Drogba's participation in the E1 World Championship electric boat racing series. These products function as independently operated subsidiaries under the Lilium Capital umbrella, unified by the company's investment philosophy and strategic oversight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vista Bank: Pan-African banking institution operating in five African countries and one European market
• Vista Assurances
• Simba
• Team Drogba

Products and services

• Vista Bank

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered key, minor and core.

• Didier Drogba FoundationkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025African consortium partnership with Lilium Capital Group and FEDA to promote the E1 Series electric speedboat racing event in Lagos, marking the first E1 event on the African continent.
• FEDAkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership in African consortium with Lilium Capital Group and Didier Drogba Foundation to promote E1 World Championship electric boat racing in Lagos.
• DAZNminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Multi-year agreement with sports streaming service DAZN extends E1 Series reach to over 1.1 billion devices worldwide through 20+ media channels.
• Vista Bank GroupcoreOthersVista Bank is Lilium's flagship investment, grown into a leading Pan-African institution operating in 5 African countries and 1 European market. Lilium Capital Group's subsidiary Vista Group Holding acquired BNP Paribas and Société Générale banks in Africa and rebranded them as Vista Bank.
• Vista AssurancescoreOthersInsurance arm leveraging the Vista network to capture opportunities in Africa's rapidly expanding insurance sector, expanding coverage and driving financial inclusion.
• SimbakeyOthersStrategic investment in Simba, a company with deep expertise in digital payments and telecom markets, representing Lilium's priority focus on Africa's technology and telecoms sector.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Actis: Actis is a leading emerging-markets private equity and infrastructure investor with a long-standing pan-African franchise across financial services, energy, and real estate, making it the closest comparable to Lilium Capital's sector-spanning, Africa-focused holding strategy.
• Sanari Capital: Sanari is a pan-African private equity firm investing in mid-market financial services, business services, and technology opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa, mirroring Lilium's emphasis on scalable, recurring-revenue businesses.
• Adenia Partners: Adenia is a pan-African private equity firm focused on financial services, business services, and consumer goods, with a long-hold, value-creation approach that parallels Lilium's patient-capital philosophy.
• Development Partners International (DPI): DPI is a pan-African private equity firm focused on high-growth, high-impact sectors including financial services, healthcare, and consumer, comparable to Lilium's diversified sector exposure and Africa-only mandate.
• Kuramo Capital Management: Kuramo is a pan-African private investment firm with holdings in financial services, infrastructure, and consumer-facing businesses, comparable in scale and sector mix to Lilium's holding-company structure.
• Emerging Capital Partners (ECP): ECP is one of the largest Africa-focused private equity managers, investing across financial services, infrastructure, telecommunications, and natural resources, directly comparable to Lilium's diversified, sector-spanning African mandate.
• Helios Investment Partners: Helios is a premier pan-African private equity firm investing across financial services, telecommunications, consumer goods, and energy—closely matching Lilium's nine-sector, Africa-centric investment thesis and holding-company structure.
• African Capital Alliance: ACA is a Lagos-based pan-African investment firm deploying capital into banking, infrastructure, FMCG, and natural resources across West and Sub-Saharan Africa, directly comparable to Lilium's headquarters-anchored, multi-sector African approach.
• Pembani Remgro Capital Partners: Pembani Remgro is a Johannesburg-based investor in African energy, resources, and financial services, comparable to Lilium's focus on oil & gas, mining, and banking across the continent.

Regional players

• Vantage Capital: Vantage Capital is Africa's largest mezzanine fund manager and a broader private equity investor across the continent, with portfolio overlap in financial services and infrastructure; it is regionally comparable to Lilium's multi-country African exposure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lilium-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Lilium Capital