Latest news with #EICF
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Enko Capital welcomes commitment from IFC to new Impact Credit Fund
LONDON, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enko Capital ('Enko'), an African-focused asset management firm managing debt, private debt, equity and private equity investments across Africa, has welcomed commitment from International Finance Corporation ('IFC') to its new Impact Credit Fund ('EICF'). The commitment has been confirmed by IFC with the planned equity investment in the fund being up to the lower of US$25 million or 20% of total Limited Partner (LP) commitment to EICF. The project is being processed under IFC's Debt Funds Project (DFP) Investment Framework. EICF is Enko's first private credit vehicle. It has a target LP commitment size of US$150 million, targeting US$80 million at first close, expected to take place in Q3 2025. EICF's objective is to invest in a diversified portfolio of USD denominated senior secured and unsecured debt to mid-sized corporates in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. EICF will seek to invest in SDG-aligned, ESG focused and gender-oriented businesses, while generating commercial returns and utilising guarantees, insurance wraps and collateral to hedge downside credit risks. Alain Nkontchou, Managing Partner of Enko, said, 'We are delighted to have received this invaluable support from IFC for our debut private credit fund. The fund will provide critical growth capital for mid-market SMEs on the continent and will deliver both positive social impact and compelling risk-adjusted returns. This growth capital can help address the massive funding gap which businesses on the continent face while driving sustainable development.' About Enko: Enko Capital ('Enko'), is an African-focused asset management firm managing debt, private debt, equity and private equity investments across Africa. Enko offers deep knowledge of the continent combined with best-in-class investment expertise. Enko was founded in 2008 by Alain and Cyrille Nkontchou, and has over $1bn in assets under management. Contact:
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Enko Capital welcomes commitment from IFC to new Impact Credit Fund
LONDON, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enko Capital ('Enko'), an African-focused asset management firm managing debt, private debt, equity and private equity investments across Africa, has welcomed commitment from International Finance Corporation ('IFC') to its new Impact Credit Fund ('EICF'). The commitment has been confirmed by IFC with the planned equity investment in the fund being up to the lower of US$25 million or 20% of total Limited Partner (LP) commitment to EICF. The project is being processed under IFC's Debt Funds Project (DFP) Investment Framework. EICF is Enko's first private credit vehicle. It has a target LP commitment size of US$150 million, targeting US$80 million at first close, expected to take place in Q3 2025. EICF's objective is to invest in a diversified portfolio of USD denominated senior secured and unsecured debt to mid-sized corporates in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. EICF will seek to invest in SDG-aligned, ESG focused and gender-oriented businesses, while generating commercial returns and utilising guarantees, insurance wraps and collateral to hedge downside credit risks. Alain Nkontchou, Managing Partner of Enko, said, 'We are delighted to have received this invaluable support from IFC for our debut private credit fund. The fund will provide critical growth capital for mid-market SMEs on the continent and will deliver both positive social impact and compelling risk-adjusted returns. This growth capital can help address the massive funding gap which businesses on the continent face while driving sustainable development.' About Enko: Enko Capital ('Enko'), is an African-focused asset management firm managing debt, private debt, equity and private equity investments across Africa. Enko offers deep knowledge of the continent combined with best-in-class investment expertise. Enko was founded in 2008 by Alain and Cyrille Nkontchou, and has over $1bn in assets under management. Contact: in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Scotsman
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Scottish circus festival show cancelled after 'performer injury' in 'stunning' aerial display
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A festival circus act described as a 'stunning aerial show' has been cancelled after one of the artists was injured during a performance. The planned three-day run of The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival (EICF) was cancelled at the weekend ahead of the festival's official opening night on Monday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad EICF said the cancellation of the two-person performance by Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali, which features aerial displays in harnesses and modern circus-style performance, was due to 'performer injury'. It is understood Mr Ali had to attend accident-and-emergency (A&E) after an afternoon show in Johnstone on Wednesday last week and has been advised by doctors not to perform. Commissioned by the National Theatre of Scotland, the show was due to run on Monday and Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoon. The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl was due to be performed this week. | Edinburgh International Children's Festival A statement from the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company and the Edinburgh International Children's Festival said: 'It is with a sad heart that we have had to cancel the performances of The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl at the Children's Festival, due to performer injury. We know this is disappointing news for the artists involved, our audiences and ourselves, but the health of the performer is paramount. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We are lucky that the show Grown Ups from Belgium, an absurd tragi-comedy about what happens to grown-ups when children are not looking, is able to step in at the last minute for the opening night of the festival tonight.' The show is also due to be performed during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, when it will be part of the Made in Scotland showcase. The statement added: 'For those with tickets for the performances, we will be in touch with information on alternative shows or refund options. The Unlikely Friendship is performing at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of Made in Scotland, so an opportunity to see the work will still be possible. We hope to see some of you at the other inspiring and joyous shows taking place at the Children's Festival this week.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Aimed at children aged nine and over, the show tells the story of a girl who wants to be a monster and a boy who wants to fly. The description in the festival's brochure said: 'Exploring the universal yearning to belong and sharing the joy of friendship, this is a dynamic and visually stunning aerial show.' A performance of the same show, due to take place in Glasgow's Tramway as part of Dance International Glasgow, was also cancelled last week, as was a second evening performance in Johnstone Town Hall on Wednesday last week. The hour-long EICF performance was due to be staged at the Assembly Roxy.
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Scotsman
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Children's Festival: 'a celebration of joy'
After years of curtailed ambition, the Children's Festival looks set to return to its former glory, says Joyce McMillan Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When Noel Jordan arrived from Sydney in 2015, to take on the role of Festival Director at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival, he had no idea what a rollercoaster his decade in charge would turn out to be. At first, all was plain sailing, as he put together festival programmes showcasing both a brilliant array of international work, and an ever-increasing number of shows from Scotland burgeoning children's theatre scene which – after 25 years of investment via the festival's year-round parent organisation, Imaginate – was beginning to win fans and admirers worldwide. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl | Tommy Ga-Ken Wan In March 2020, though, as the first wave of Covid lockdowns swept across Europe, the EICF became one of the first Scottish arts organisation to have to cancel its May festival completely. There followed two years of tentative reconstruction, as the festival staged an ingenious 2021 'outdoor and online' programme, followed by a 2022 programme built around half a dozen Scottish shows and other work from neighbouring countries. And it's only now, half a decade on, that the festival is once again beginning to look like the exuberant showcase for international and Scottish work that it was when it was first launched in a tented village in Inverleith Park, back in 1989. For Jordan, it seems like the right moment to step down, as he prepares to return to Australia; but not without delivering an enthusiastic drum-roll for this year's event, which opens on 24 May with its usual Family Day at the National Museum of Scotland, followed over the next week by a programme of 13 shows, including three new works made in Scotland, and five presented as part of a Spotlight on Flanders season, showcasing work from a culture that produces some of Europe's most adventurous theatre for young audiences. Tongue Twister | Contributed 'One thing I'm particularly pleased about,' says Jordan, 'is that we're starting to move on towards a new generation of children theatre-makers in Scotland – although the established companies are still there, and often play a key role in fostering new talent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Our opening night performance, for example, is The Unlikely Friendship Of Feather Boy And Tentacle Girl, a fabulous circus-inspired show by Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali about how the power of friendship can transform us from loners and misfits into strong characters ready to pursue our dreams. 'Greg Sinclair's Tongue Twister, by contrast, comes from one of Scotland's best-known makers of theatre for young people; but it represents a new departure for him, and it will be staged at the newly reopened North Edinburgh Arts Centre, which is great to see.' Jordan is also excited to see the festival expanding this year into a venue it has never visited previously, as Belgian company Be Flat come to Portobello Town Hall with their intriguing acrobatic show Double You, a spectacular circus performance that explores 'fear of missing out'. And at the Traverse, he's delighted to present the legendary Belgian company Kopergietery in The Pale Baron, an exceptionally timely show for older children about two musicians trying to pursue their art during a regime that tries to eliminate everything that seems too free, too different or too rebellious. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We also have shows this year from France and Germany, and from the wonderful Oily Cart company from England, working with the Australian company Polyglot,' says Jordan. 'And the programme includes some intensely physical work that really explores the idea of storytelling through acrobatics, and expands our ideas of what the human body can do. Because above all, I want this festival to be about the power of creativity, celebration and fun; not as a form of escapism from all the problems we face, but as an expression of joy. Because without joy – in our bodies, and in the power of our imaginations – we will never be able to overcome those problems; and we hope that this year's Festival truly captures that spirit, and celebrates it.'
