Portfolio Partner Profile

TLG Capital Africa Growth Impact Fund II

Africa Growth Impact Fund II (AGIF II) is a 7-year, closed-ended fund that invests in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sectors such as manufacturing, agribusiness, healthcare, education, and logistics in Africa. The fund is managed by TLG Capital, a leading private credit fund manager specializing in Sub-Saharan Africa. AGIF II provides flexible non-dilutive growth capital alongside technical assistance to SMEs in partnership with local African banks.

Featured Impact Story

TLG Capital Africa Growth Impact Fund II impact story image

Impact Story

Kijenge Animal Products (Tanzania)

Kijenge Animal Products is a fixture in Tanzania's agricultural economy. For over 40 years, Kijenge has been at the center of maize milling, cooking oil production, and animal feed making in Arusha, running sustainable agro-processing services that are critical to regional output. Its impact has been profound at three critical levels. Firstly, in a country where a third of children under five are stunted – with vitamin deficiencies as a leading driver of childhood illness – Kijenge is working to directly close gaps. It sells over 1 million units per year of nutrient-dense maize flour, vitamin enriched cooking oils, and animal feed, providing affordable nutrition to bottom-of-the-pyramid households. It is also partnering with UNICEF's First Foods programme to boost its products with iron, folic acid, and other essential micronutrients, aiming to launch a national school meals program. Secondly, it works with smallholder farmers across the region who often lack stable offtakers, serving as a reliable buyer of crops in the East African agricultural supply chain. Finally, Kijenge's output supports macroeconomic stability by strengthening food security and reducing import dependence in a region that has been susceptible to currency volatility and macroeconomic shocks.

When TLG invested in 2025, Kijenge was struggling with liquidity to fully utilize their production facility, resulting in extremely low utilization rates. TLG's $15 million facility came in partnership with CRDB, Tanzania's largest bank, and provided Kijenge with longer-term capital to ramp up production. In the CEO's words, the loan gave Kijenge "room to breathe again." In addition to capital, TLG brought in Manufacturing Africa, a UK FCDO program, to provide best-in-class technical assistance supporting with supply chain optimisation, financial systems, sales strategy, labor practices, and worker health and safety as the business scales up. In the process, the investment has safeguarded more than 100 direct jobs and the livelihoods of more than 650 indirect smallholder farmers.

Impact Story

Jackfruit Finance (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania)

Jackfruit Finance promotes financial inclusion for schools in East Africa. Kenya’s low-cost schools face basic infrastructure challenges: half of them lack reliable electricity, safe sanitation, and clean running water. They are also locked out of formal credit systems to address these critical issues. Jackfruit provides flexible working capital and infrastructure loans to these groups, and has now reached over 900 low-income schools and roughly 250,000 students across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its loans have helped to replace unreliable boreholes with piped running water, swapped traditional jikos for LPG stoves, and connected some schools to electricity for the first time. Ultimately, this means better education: an independent survey by 60 Decibels found that 75% of schools reported strengthened educational quality as a result of Jackfruit’s financing. The majority of schools working with Jackfruit also reported increased earnings, higher student enrollment, and improved financial management.

TLG's 2025 investment in Jackfruit used an innovative "Triple Impact” model, enabling Jackfruit to borrow in local currency from a $5m debt facility. The structure brings together philanthropic and bank partners to deliver high-impact credit to Jackfruit: TLG's facility is guaranteed by the IDP Foundation in partnership with Morgan Stanley. The structure enables Jackfruit to access local currency to lend to schools. The model provides a new approach that allows foundations to leverage their endowments portfolios to achieve impact outcomes. Funders have since replicated the model and are seeking to invite more philanthropic partners into the partnership.

Impact Story

Shona Capital (Zambia)

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Zambia's economy: they are responsible for nearly 90% of the country's employment and over 80% of the country's GDP. Despite their importance, accessing credit is a major issue, as they face an estimated $2 billion financing gap. Without access to flexible credit, these business struggle to formalize, hire, and grow. Shona Capital Zambia was created to close that gap, offering fast and flexible credit to SMEs in agriculture, health, retail, and a variety of other critical sectors. Building on highly successful financial software debuted in Uganda, Shona Capital Zambia uses technology to underwrite and disburse loans to these businesses across the country.

In 2026, TLG provided a $5 million scaling facility for Shona Capital Zambia, as their first institutional debt investor, enabling direct loan book growth. To date, Shona has funded 58 companies and disbursed about $1.7 million, with no defaults thus far. It aims to fund over 500 SMEs in the next three years, catalysing business activity in Zambia's growing economy. In addition to capital, Shona Capital Zambia works hands-on with their borrowers to help them develop repayment plans and to build financial literacy. Shona Capital Zambia also integrates a gender lens in lending, especially focused on women-led SMEs.

The information presented is provided by our portfolio partners for general informational purposes only. We have not independently verified for accuracy or completeness. The testimonials presented reflect the personal experiences and opinions of portfolio partners and their investees, and do not guarantee the same results for others.

Return to Portfolio:

Community Investment Note Portfolio

Sectors and Topics:

Small Business Small Business

Region(s):

Sub-Saharan Africa

Countries:

Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia

First Year of Investment:

2026

Website:

https://www.tlgcapital.com/africa-growth-impact-fund

Social Media:

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