Kasada Capital Raises Over USD 500 Mn For Sub-Saharan Africa Hospitality Fund

Kasada Capital Management (KCM), a new Sub-Saharan hospitality investment platform has secured over USD 500 Mn for its maiden fund – the Kasada Hospitality Fund.

This is in line with a first announcement disclosed in July 2018 by Katara Hospitality and Accor who are respectively contributing USD 350 Mn and USD 150 Mn. The fund will target both greenfield and brownfield projects.

The hospitality sector is one of the fastest growing space in Africa. It has somehow remained resilient in the face of economic and political uncertainty, impacts of droughts and other regulatory changes. There are a lot of opportunities as the industry continues to grow.

“Africa’s hotel sector has the potential for further growth over the next five years. An increase in the number of foreign and domestic travellers, as well as expansion in a number of hotel chains on the continent, reinforces the hotel sector’s untapped potential for business growth. Tourism remains an important part of each economy, with continued investment in each country seeing additional hotel rooms coming online over the next five years, ” reads a part of PWC report dubbed ‘Hospitality outlook 2018-2022’

Despite the sector thriving and recording steady improvement, it still remains under-serviced

Kasada Capital Management aims to fill the gap between the local hospitality market players and international investors. It remains optimistic that its positive social impact is key to becoming the number one sustainable hospitality fund dedicated to Africa.

The team is co-led by Olivier Granet (CEO and Managing Partner) a former CEO of AccorHotels Middle East & Africa and David Damiba (CIO and Managing Partner), a former partner at Helios Investment Partners.

Co-investments with local partners will aid job creation and further local business opportunities throughout the hospitality value chain, from investors to constructors and equipment suppliers.

Olivier Granet, CEO, said: “There is an incredible opportunity ahead to try out an innovative hospitality investment platform in the region. While in other parts of the world such initiatives are already thriving, they do not exist with critical size and integrated structure in Sub-Saharan Africa. The time is now for bold strategies to be implemented.”

“Thanks to Accor and Katara’s support we benefit from a unique competitive advantage supported by a strong portfolio of brands enhancing our ability to raise debt efficiently from local banks and international financial institutions. This is the best structure to address the needs of the region, develop attractive products and reach critical mass quickly to take a leadership position.

Granet further stated, ” I believe that our team of professionals combining experts from project financing to hotel management all with a solid local knowledge is exceptionally well placed to succeed.”

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