Investment Funds for Health in Africa

What Investment Funds for Health in Africa does

Investment Funds for Health in Africa (IFHA) is a Netherlands-based private equity fund manager, established in 2007, that has raised two funds dedicated exclusively to equity investments in private healthcare SMEs across Sub-Saharan Africa. IFHA-I closed at EUR 50.1m in 2007 and IFHA-II closed at USD 149.5m in December 2016, giving aggregate AUM of EUR 170m; both funds are now in exit phase with no new investments planned other than follow-ons in Fund II portfolio companies. The firm is managed by African Health Systems Management (AHSM) and serves a base of 18 institutional and development finance investors (IFC, FMO, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Pensioenfonds ABP, Achmea, SIFEM, Pfizer, Gilead, Dutch Good Growth Fund, and others).

IFHA's portfolio comprises 12 companies spanning care provisioning (C-Care/IHK hospitals in Uganda, Hospital Holdings Investment in Kenya/Uganda, Hygeia HMO and Lagoon Hospitals in Nigeria), health insurance and HMO operations (AAR Holdings, Hygeia HMO), healthcare products manufacturing and distribution (Labotec, Neuberg Global Laboratories, Trivitron Healthcare Africa, Sourcelink Healthcare), and health-payments technology (CarePay International/M-TIBA). The firm applies an Environmental and Social Development (ESD) Framework aligned with IFC Performance Standards. Underlying technology exposure sits principally with CarePay, whose M-TIBA platform is a cloud-based mobile health-payments and insurance administration system serving 4.8 million members and 5,000 healthcare providers across Kenya and Nigeria, with AI/ML-driven claims processing (over 40% automated) and a UAE expansion via the Aspire platform launched in 2025.

IFHA's revenue model is standard emerging-markets PE economics: recurring management fees (typical 1.5-2% on committed capital) and transaction-linked carried interest from successful exits. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on the DFI and institutional LP network for fundraising and on direct deal sourcing across Sub-Saharan Africa for deployment. The firm operates a lean team of approximately 7 professionals across Amsterdam and Nairobi, including three partners (Onno Schellekens, Menka Shah, Eline Blaauboer), CFO Wassili Diagos, an investment manager, an investment associate/ESD manager, and a financial analyst.

Name

Investment Funds for Health in Africa

Legal name

Investment Funds for Health in Africa

Website

https://ifhafund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Investment Funds for Health in Africa (IFHA) is a Netherlands-based private equity fund manager running two funds (EUR 170m AUM) dedicated to equity investments in private healthcare SMEs across Sub-Saharan Africa; both funds are in exit phase.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Healthcare Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Private equity funds
• Healthcare investments
• Emerging markets
• Fund management
• Impact investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Fund Management: IFHA generates returns through management fees and carried interest (performance fees) from its two private equity funds — IFHA-I (closed at EUR 50.1m in 2007) and IFHA-II (closed at USD 149.5m in December 2016) — by making equity investments in private healthcare companies across Sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Capital Gains / Carried Interest: IFHA earns carried interest from successful exits of portfolio companies. The funds are in exit phase, with follow-on investments continuing in existing Fund II portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IFHA is a private equity fund manager that raises committed capital from institutional and development finance investors and makes equity investments in fast-growing small and medium-sized private healthcare companies across Sub-Saharan Africa. The firm currently manages IFHA-I (EUR 50.1m, 2007) and IFHA-II (USD 149.5m, December 2016), with 12 portfolio investments spanning care provision, health insurance, healthcare manufacturing, and wholesale and distribution. Both funds are now in exit phase with follow-on investments continuing in existing Fund II portfolio companies.

Product overview

IFHA (Investment Funds for Health in Africa) is a private equity fund manager with two fund products (IFHA-I Fund, launched 2007 with EUR 50.1m; IFHA-II Fund, launched 2016 with USD 149.5m) investing in 12 fast-growing private healthcare companies across Africa. The funds target healthcare SMEs in care provisioning (hospitals, clinics), health insurance/HMOs, healthcare manufacturing (pharmaceuticals, medical supplies), and wholesale/distribution. IFHA manages EUR 170m in assets under management across 40 clinics and 3 private hospitals, serving 18 investors including FMO, African Development Bank, and European Investment Bank. The funds are currently in exit phase with an Environmental and Social Development Framework measuring portfolio impact. Portfolio companies include CarePay International (health payments/M-TIBA platform), AAR Holdings (East Africa health insurance/care), C-Care (hospitals in Uganda/Mauritius), Hygeia HMO (Nigeria), Labotec (medical equipment distribution), and Trivitron Healthcare Africa (medical devices).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IFHA-I Fund The first private equity fund managed by African Health Systems Management, launched in 2007 with EUR 50.1 million in committed capital and exclusively dedicated to investments in small and medium-sized private healthcare companies in Africa across care provision, health insurance, manufacturing, and related areas. The fund is currently in exit phase.
• IFHA-II Fund The second private equity fund managed by African Health Systems Management, established with USD 149.5 million in committed capital to invest in and build pan-African healthcare solutions that achieve economies of scale and drive down costs for patients. The fund is currently in exit phase with follow-on investments continuing in existing portfolio companies.
• Environmental and Social Development (ESD) Framework IFHA's proprietary framework to improve the Environmental, Social and Development impact of its portfolio companies, including annual ESD Performance Reports, an E&S Action Plan at point of investment, and alignment with IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability, with technical assistance funded through the FAPA grant from the African Development Bank.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 Clinics and 3 Private Hospitals across Sub-Saharan Africa
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Acumen Fund: Impact-focused investment fund backing early- and growth-stage companies in healthcare, energy, and agriculture across East Africa and South Asia. Highly comparable given IFHA portfolio company Menka Shah's prior leadership of Acumen's East African portfolio.
• GroFin: Private equity and debt provider to small and medium enterprises across Africa and the Middle East, with a healthcare-inclusive SME mandate. Comparable as a development-finance-backed fund manager investing in African SMEs including healthcare.
• PharmAccess Group: Dutch non-profit organization pioneering health insurance, financing, and quality standards for the African healthcare sector. Comparable mission and geography; IFHA co-founder Onno Schellekens previously served as CEO of PharmAccess.
• LeapFrog Investments: Emerging-markets private equity firm investing growth capital in financial services and healthcare across Africa and Asia. Directly comparable as a returns-driven PE manager focused on financial inclusion and healthcare access in developing markets.
• Africa Capital Alliance: Lagos-based private equity firm managing multiple funds investing in African mid-market companies, including healthcare exposure. Comparable as a multi-fund African PE manager serving institutional and DFI capital.
• Novastar Ventures: East Africa-focused venture capital and growth equity firm backing consumer and healthcare businesses. Comparable geography and stage focus on growth-stage SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Emerging players

• MedAccess: UK-based social finance company guaranteeing volumes to lower prices for health products in low- and middle-income countries. Comparable as an emerging-market healthcare financing vehicle, though it operates via volume guarantees rather than equity.
• Vital Capital: Impact-focused private equity firm investing in essential sectors including healthcare across Sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable as an emerging-markets impact investor with healthcare focus.

Broad incumbents

• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group member and the largest global DFI, operating as both a direct investor and LP in emerging-market PE funds including IFHA. Comparable as a healthcare-PE capital allocator in Africa, but at vastly larger scale.

Others

• FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank): Dutch development finance institution investing in private enterprises in developing countries, including as an LP in IFHA funds. Comparable as a healthcare-finance capital provider in Africa, primarily as an investor/partner rather than a competing PE manager.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/investment-funds-for-health-in-africa

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Investment Funds for Health in Africa