Mesh parent 42Markets Group secures investment from Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund

LONDON, 25th April 2023 – 42Markets Group, the financial and capital markets fintech incubator and investment group, has secured R182 million ($10m) in growth funding from Convergence Partners, a leading private equity investor dedicated to the technology sector across sub-Saharan Africa, after it recently closed its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at $296 million. 

The fresh capital will support 42Markets in accelerating the development and expansion of its portfolio companies – Mesh (NL, Mesh.trade), Andile (UK, andile.net) and FXFlow (SA, fxflow.co), with the bulk of the raise being deployed in Mesh.trade. 

Mesh.trade was founded to make the financial markets more accessible for all, it has built a multi-sided platform which makes it easier and more effective to raise capital and invest in the Capital Markets. Mesh.trade lets market participants issue, tokenise, trade, settle, and lifecycle manage multiple classes of digital securities at a fraction of the time and cost taken by market intermediaries in the traditional capital markets. Netherlands-based Mesh launched in South Africa just under a year ago and is already receiving strong validation for its business model.

Mesh was co-founded in 2019 by Managing Director Connie Bloem and Andries Brink, 42Markets Group CEO. Bloem explains, “this injection of capital will support Mesh in its next phase of growth, which includes expanding the reach of our South African operations, investing in regulatory compliance and launching our next operating company in the EU. We are excited that this investment will allow us to invite more companies and individuals to join our movement, so we can continue to increase access to the financial markets for all.” 

Brink agrees, “this is a real vote of confidence in the positive impact that investment in digital financial infrastructure can have, both in developing and in mature markets.” Two of 42Markets’ other group businesses operate in Africa, capital markets services and advisory firm Andile (UK, andile.net), that brings deep market and industry expertise to help the Trade and Treasury departments within Banks, leapfrog legacy software to streamline and automate their IT Operations infrastructure, and early-stage platform business FXFlow (SA, fxflow.co), a FX exposure and risk management platform that creates value for importers and exporters in regulated markets.

Brandon Doyle, CEO of Convergence Partners, added: “This is one of our first investments in the digital transformation of financial markets. We see 42Markets as an emerging winner in this space. Their group companies have a long track record of consistent double-digit growth and a quality leadership team with deep expertise and experience in the capital markets.” 

Fourteen leading global development finance institutions (DFIs) based in Europe, the US and Africa are the investors in CPDIF and Brink says “this is the connected capital we have been looking for. We are proactively engaging with these investors to explore further opportunities to work together”.

Christian Roelofse, Investment Officer responsible for the Netherlands DFI says: “FMO is pleased with the efforts of Convergence Partners in identifying and supporting African entrepreneurs. Through their investments in companies like 42Markets, we believe that digitally enabled financial inclusion will be advanced on the continent. Through our partnership with Convergence Partners, we are proud to be associated with innovative companies that are developing relevant solutions for the biggest needs of our time.”

For more information on 42Markets Group and its portfolio of financial and capital markets fintech businesses, see here.

About Convergence Partners

Convergence Partners is a leading private equity investment manager focused on the technology sector in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 20-year history of investing successfully in digital infrastructure in the region. With more than US$600 million under management, including the recently launched Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund, which is focused on long term investments in data centres, fibre networks, wireless and towers, edge, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Thing (IoT), cloud and fintech and platforms across the Continent. Convergence Partners’ team is located in offices in South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius and soon Kenya. Find out more here: https://www.convergencepartners.com/ 

About 42Markets Group 

42Markets is an incubator of specialist Fintech businesses that have deep expertise in financial and capital markets, with the ultimate objective of making markets simpler, smarter and more accessible. Focusing on financially sustainable and transformational businesses, the Group builds exponential shareholder value by identifying scalable business opportunities in specialist financial and capital markets categories and then uses the Group’s global reach and industry credibility to take these propositions to market. Find out more here: https://www.42markets.group/