Without flashy headlines or legacy banners, Kessner Capital Management has launched its first private credit fund, and with it, a quiet revolution in how capital is structured for Africa’s real economy.
Operational since March 2024, the fund targets the vast but chronically underserved mid-market segment: companies too solid for donor grants, yet too invisible for traditional funds. It’s where real growth lives, and where capital rarely flows.
Not Microfinance. Not Mega-LBOs. Something Africa-Specific.
Kessner’s approach is deliberate, technical, and unapologetically local. Built by a team of African professionals with global experience, the firm finances profitable, growth-ready companies in sectors like agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology, and financial services.
The instruments are tailored: loans ranging from 30 days to 3 years, denominated in hard or local currencies, designed to fit operational realities rather than imported benchmarks.
“We don’t think in spreads. We think in strategy. Our goal is to build long-term, sustainable value alongside the businesses we finance,”
say Benny Osei and Bruno-Maurice Monny, Co-Founders and Managing Partners.
A Market Gap That Speaks for Itself
While Africa’s economy is projected to grow by 5.7% in 2025, the financing gap for small and mid-sized businesses exceeds $331 billion annually, according to the World Bank.
Kessner aims to fill that void not through charity, but through capital that is structured, disciplined, and embedded in local intelligence.
The team combines deep market knowledge with an activist approach to risk and opportunity, offering investors a way to tap into Africa’s real economy, with both impact and performance on the table.
Sponsored Strategically, But Fully Independent
The fund is backed by NFG SA, a Swiss-based private investment holding, offering institutional support to reinforce Kessner’s operational strength.
Critically, the firm maintains full autonomy in sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments, a governance choice baked into its founding structure.
A Team That Reflects the Thesis
Kessner is led by:
- Bruno-Maurice Monny, former structured credit specialist at J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas;
- Benny Osei, a multi-asset and frontier markets investor (ex-Leifbridge Capital, Bloomberg).
The firm is advised by a board of high-level figures from diplomacy, finance, and infrastructure, including Charles Millon, Colin Rezek, Christiane de Livonnière, and Frédéric Le Bourgeois.
Not Just a Fund. A Signal.
Kessner is not entering a crowded field. It’s stepping into a vacuum — where capital is needed, but only if it speaks the right language. And in this case, that language is local, agile, and strategic.
“Africa doesn’t lack ambition. It lacks capital that understands its context. That’s the role we’ve built Kessner to play.”
Investor & Media Contact
info@kessner.co.uk
