New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- Alterra Capital Partners, an Africa-focussed private equity firm that backs high-growth companies in the region, is set to make an investment through a vehicle it closed earlier this year, VCCircle has learnt.

The Johannesburg-based PE firm, formed in 2020 by former members of the Carlyle Africa team, is planning to make an investment in UNICAF, an online and blended learning institution operating across the continent.

UNICAF, which is backed by the British International Investment (BII) and Goldman Sachs spinoff Juven Africa, partners with universities in Europe, Africa, the US, and the UK. It offers online university programmes, blended learning, vocational learning, and upskilling courses to students across sub-Saharan Africa. It also operates a multi-campus university.

Alterra is using its Mauritius-based special acquisition vehicle, TrumpetFish HoldCo, which will take control of UNICAF once the deal is approved. TrumpetFish is solely controlled by Alterra Africa Accelerator Fund LP (Mauritius) and Alterra Africa Accelerator Fund (ZAR) Partnership (South Africa).

Alterra launched the Alterra Africa Accelerator (AAA) fund towards the end of 2023, marking an initial close of $140 million. The fund achieved its final close in April, Genevieve Sangudi, managing director of Alterra, told VCCircle previously.

It targets high-growth, mid-sized enterprises across sectors in Africa. It focuses on sectors such as technology, telecom, healthcare, logistics, consumer, and retail, with a particular emphasis on east and southern Africa. Alterra has offices in Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Mauritius.

In May, it secured a commitment for the AAA Fund from the African Development Bank Group. The AfDB, the continent's most prominent development finance institution, is making an equity investment of up to $15 million in the fund, which has a target corpus of $400 million.

Previously, BII committed $20 million to the fund, VCCircle reported in March 2025. Other limited partners for the fund include Norway's Norfund, African lender Standard Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Germany's DEG, and Allianz SE's AfricaGrow fund.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.