African commodities investment specialist Scipion Capital has announced a trio of appointments in London.

The company cites the “growing popularity of commodities trade finance (CTF)” as the reason for its expansion.

Georgina Fleming has joined to oversee product management and development. She will be responsible for sourcing investment opportunities and developing investor relations. Fleming previously worked as business development co-ordinator at a leading US law firm and has also worked for a private equity firm specialising in Sub-Saharan agribusiness.

George Sanders and Ben Storrs have joined as analysts. Sanders, a Japanese speaker, previously worked at London Research International, a boutique Japanese energy, infrastructure and commodities research firm. He joins Scipion’s trading desk.

Storrs will join the firm’s energy and commodity research team. He previously worked as an economic researcher at a London think tank and the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Scipion CEO Nicolas Clavel says: ““We see Africa as the key to the global commodities story. The rest of the world, Asia in particular, is increasingly dependent on Africa as its source of commodities, and this has triggered a rise in popularity for CTF as a strategy. It is clear to us that investors have identified CTF as a way to capitalise on Africa’s remarkable growth.

“As a result, we’ve seen a huge amount of interest in our fund. The strengthening of the London team with Georgina, George and Ben will not only help us manage recent investment into the fund, but will also assist us in driving further inflows and identifying new prospects, while providing the high level of investor support that is paramount to our continuing success.”