When the Covid-19 crisis hit, Kola Aina (pictured), partner at Abuja-based early stage fund Ventures Platform, started comparing notes with partners the company works with around the globe. The end result was the launch of the Nigeria Impact Startup Relief Facility, or NISRF, to bring together early stage investors in African startups that have been hit by the pandemic.

BGF announcesis formally supporting The Diversity Project in its mission to accelerate progress in achieving a more inclusive culture in the investment and savings profession. 

By Susana Garcia-Robles, Venture Partner, Capria Ventures – Face masks and frequent hand-washing are the new routine. But how can a company be safer in the new normal? “Good contractual hygiene,” says Joe Wallin, principal at Seattle-based Carney Badley Spellman. In particular, companies should be sure to understand – and where possible, standardise – force majeure language across all their legal contracts.

The pandemic has made investors ask a different set of questions, and shown how a ‘hybrid-approach’ will increase efficiency in the new normal, according to Sebastian Junoy, speaking on the operational due diligence panel at the PEWlive event today (2 September).

By Natasha Head, business development manager, ManCo services & PERE, Maitland – The impact of Covid-19 on the global private equity market is uncertain. December 2019 concluded a very strong decade, a period of significant growth with overwhelming fundraising figures and outperformance of public markets. There was a bright path ahead: a time for real consolidation, focus on operating models, ESG and diversity, growth of the secondaries market and increase capital flow to new jurisdictions.

By Deborah Ruff, Head of US & International Arbitration, Julia Kalinina Belcher, Counsel, and Charles H Golsong, Counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP – On 22 May 2020, the Tribunal de Commerce of Paris ordered the insurance giant AXA France IARD SA to pay Maison Rostang, a Michelin-starred Parisian restaurant, EUR 45,000 for two months’ worth of revenue lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A simple case of Covid-19 losses? Not quite.

Pet owners’ love for their animals, along with the impact of Covid-19, are among the reasons private equity decision-makers feel bullish about the future of the animal care sector, according to a new survey of 100 industry leaders conducted by Katten.

Vital Capital has partnered up with the US Government’s Kenya Investment Mechanism to provide funding to Kenyan agri-businesses that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

London-based financial firms appear to be in no rush to have the majority of their staff back in the office, according to new research by Theta Financial Reporting.

A new survey by State Street Corporation reveals that the Covid-19 crisis has fuelled the appetite of insurers for alternative asset classes, particularly in private credit and private equity.