The Hague, Netherlands, 25 March 2026 - FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, announces USD 1,25 million in catalytic operational support for CiGaba, a Ghana-domiciled fund of funds managed by Savannah Impact Advisory, to strengthen its early-stage operations and market building role. The support is funded by the European Union under the Investing in Young Businesses in Africa Team Europe Initiative (IYBA‑TEI), contributing to the broader Team Europe ambition of strengthening inclusive private sector development and resilient local capital markets in Africa.
CiGaba is a pioneering fund of funds designed to mobilize domestic institutional capital –particularly pension funds – into private equity and private debt investments targeting young and growing businesses in Ghana and selected West African markets. By addressing long standing structural and capacity barriers that have limited pension fund participation in private markets, CiGaba aims to expand access to appropriate growth capital for early stage and growth-oriented enterprises. At the same time, it seeks to strengthen local financial ecosystems and reduce reliance on foreign funding.
FMO’s support focuses on strengthening the fund manager’s operational capacity during its fundraising and early implementation phase. This catalytic support is intended to help CiGaba reach scale and sustainability, enabling it to mobilize significantly larger volumes of domestic institutional capital into local fund managers and businesses over time.
The support is delivered under the Investing in Young Businesses in Africa (IYBA – Market Creation Platform (IYBA MCP), a European Union funded program implemented by FMO as part of the Team Europe IYBA approach. The program targets systemic barriers that prevent capital from reaching high potential but underserved businesses by strengthening intermediaries, developing new investment structures, and building the enabling environment needed to turn unbankable opportunities into investable propositions.
CiGaba exemplifies this market creation approach in practice. While regulatory reforms in Ghana, now allow pension funds to invest in alternative assets, limited experience, risk perceptions, and capacity gaps continue to constrain deployment. Through hands-on engagement with pension funds and local fund managers, CiGaba is helping build the knowledge, governance, and investment infrastructure needed to unlock domestic long-term capital for young businesses.
Hamdiya Ismaila, CEO at Savannah Impact Advisory, said: “Mobilizing local capital isn’t just about funding SMEs, it’s about transforming markets so that investors have confidence, and local enterprises have the resources they need to succeed. That’s the mission of CiGaba.”
Andrew Shaw, Manager Impact at FMO, said: “CiGaba is a Ghana-led solution to a Ghanaian challenge: how to put long-term domestic savings to work for the entrepreneurs building jobs and services in their communities. We are proud to back Hamdiya and the Savannah Impact Advisory team as they build the confidence, capabilities and market infrastructure that can help pension funds invest in local growth, for the long term.”
By supporting CiGaba, FMO contributes to IYBA’s objectives of expanding access to finance for young and growing businesses, with a strong emphasis on women led and gender intentional investment strategies. CiGaba integrates gender considerations across its governance, investment decision making, and impact measurement, aligning with Team Europe priorities on women’s economic empowerment and inclusive growth. FMO’s support for CiGaba reflects its broader Market Creation strategy: addressing structural barriers in financial ecosystems so that local investors, fund managers, and entrepreneurs can participate more effectively in private sector growth and long-term development.
