Making African businesses stronger and more sustainable through profitable and ethical investment
At Adenia, we are committed to promoting a sustainable future through our ESG priorities.
Our focus areas include:
-
Job Quality and Diversity -
Sustainability of Operations -
Financial Performance of Funds
Job Quality and Diversity
At Adenia, we prioritise promoting gender equality and supporting women’s access to quality work within our portfolio companies.
We track metrics related to the representation of women in leadership positions and the overall workforce to ensure that we are
making progress in this area.
How we assess impact
UN SDGs and IRIS+ specific impact
Theory of Change
Clear target for Job Quality & Diversity and Sustainability of Operations
Specific SDG targets set on a case-by-case basis
• A decent living wage.
• Gender equality.
• Employee benefits.
• Career-building opportunities.
• A fair and engaging workplace.
• Employee Net Promoter Score.
• Employee incidents.
• Employee disputes.
• Gender equality.
• Employee benefits.
• Career-building opportunities.
• A fair and engaging workplace.
• Employee Net Promoter Score.
• Employee incidents.
• Employee disputes.
• Contributing to an additional SDG/impact area.
• Building impact into the business.
• Developing and/or amplifying impact that is core to business strategy and/or operations.
• Building impact into the business.
• Developing and/or amplifying impact that is core to business strategy and/or operations.
Sustainability of Operations
At Adenia, we prioritise the sustainability of our operations. We strongly advocate for the implementation of best practices
and standards to guarantee that operations are in line with environmental and social considerations. To evaluate the sustainability
of operations, we use the following criteria:
How we assess impact
UN SDGs and IRIS+ specific impact
Theory of Change
Clear target for Job Quality & Diversity and Sustainability of Operations
Specific SDG targets set on a case-by-case basis
• International certifications.
• Quality of infrastructure.
• Resource efficiency programming.
• Water-saving.
• Energy-saving.
• Waste management.
• Carbon emissions.
• Contraventions.
• Quality of infrastructure.
• Resource efficiency programming.
• Water-saving.
• Energy-saving.
• Waste management.
• Carbon emissions.
• Contraventions.
• Contributing to an additional SDG/impact area.
• Building impact into the business.
• Developing and/or amplifying impact that is core to business strategy and/or operations.
• Building impact into the business.
• Developing and/or amplifying impact that is core to business strategy and/or operations.
Financial Performance of Funds
In our operations and our approach to investing, we commit to driving sustainable business transformations with the dual
aims of maximising financial returns and ensuring positive contributions to the SDGs. Ultimately, our approach to investment
is guided by the strong sense of purpose embedded in our value statement, namely to profitably and ethically invest in African
businesses, making them stronger and more sustainable, ultimately contributing to the wellbeing of Africa and its people.
Our approach
Our ESGI strategy is defined by our clear intent and commitment to promoting positive change. We communicate this intent
through stringent policies and guidelines that shape the actions of the firm and our portfolio companies by setting goals,
delineating the frameworks to which we expect alignment, and defining the conditions for good decision-making. These policies
and guidelines are in turn used to determine our evaluations of our progress and that of our portfolio companies, as well as
action plans that are designed to effect targeted change.
Performance at a glance
- Gender Equality
- Climate Action
- Sustainability of Operations And Job Quality & Diversity
- Financial Performance
Adenia’s gender performance and target
At 31 December 2023
Climate performance at Adenia Level
At 31 December 2023
Sustainability of Operations at Fund Level
At 31 December 2023
Financial performance at Fund Level
At 31 December 2023
Case studies
Overseas Catering Services
In 2021, Overseas Catering Services (OCS) embarked on a transformative journey towards achieving the esteemed Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) label accreditation from Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM) for Ansamble Maroc –
demonstrating our profound commitment to embedding sustainability and social responsibility into the very fabric of our operations.
Herholdt’s Group
Herholdt’s Group began our journey with Adenia in 2021 as a profitable family-owned business comprising three branches across three
provinces in South Africa with 164 employees. While a successful business at the time, our business management
system was limited, as were our ESG and supply chain structures.
Our position statement on climate change
Despite Africa’s minimal contribution to global GHG emissions, the continent remains significantly vulnerable to the adverse impacts
of climate change. With much of its ecosystem threatened, the continent faces increasingly severe socioeconomic, health, and environmental
consequences. In line with our longstanding view that private capital must play its part in supporting climate resilience across the
continent, Adenia has refined our approach to climate action over 2023.
2023 highlights
- Published our inaugural climate action report.
- Conducted baseline assessments for Adenia and all AC(IV) companies.
- Disclosed AC(IV) financed emissions for the first time (PCAF-aligned).
- Secured limited assurance for Adenia’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 baseline and 2023 emissions.
- Conducted climate-related training for representatives from Adenia and our portfolio companies.
- Joined Initiative Climat International.
