The company’s value proposition is centered around offering bespoke, tech-based talent solutions for the East African job market. Its online job portals, Ethiojobs, Dereja, and Kipawa, contribute to the efficient matching of employers with qualified candidates, thereby promoting a more dynamic and fair labour market.

This case study showcases Meridiam’s investment in Solarsen platform, which comprises 4 power plants located in Senegal, and explores the investor’s commitment to deliver positive impact by contributing towards SDG 7. SDG 7 has been one of Meridiam’s main pillars with investments in energy transition projects such as renewables being at the heart of the company’s investment strategy.

This case study highlights African Infrastructure Investment Managers’ investment in Starsight Energy, a leading Commercial & Industrial solar power supplier in Africa. Starsight Energy delivers comprehensive, end-to-end solar solutions that help businesses reduce annual energy costs, boost energy efficiency, and improve their carbon footprints.

This case study focuses on Adenia Partners’ investment in Red Lands Roses, a company that specializes in the production of premium roses in Kenya, and investigates how they are integrating ‘SDG 5 – Gender Equality’ into this. Adenia Partners is a private markets investment firm committed to responsible investing and a sustainable Africa. By creating stronger companies with quality jobs, fostering economic improvement, and elevating companies to meet ESG standards, Adenia is increasing the enterprise value for investors, while benefiting workers, communities, and companies in Africa.

This case study highlights Alitheia IDF’s investment in ReelFruit, a woman-owned agro-processing company in Nigeria that produces a range of retail packaged snacks, and showcases how they are integrating SDG 5 - Gender Equality into this investment. Alitheia IDF is the first and largest African gender-lens investment fund which seeks to increase and improve the financial and social outcomes of women by investing in a diversified portfolio of women-owned, womenled, or women-serving SMEs.

Herholdt’s is a family business established in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1964, whom successfully diversified into the distribution of solar energy installations. Impressed by the company’s growth and development impact potential, Adenia partnered with the second-generation family members, who had been running the business for more than 5 years, to buy out the founders.

This case study focuses on Verod Capital Management’s investment into schools in Nigeria via its portfolio company, Oreon Education Services, and how they are integrating ‘SDG 4 – Quality Education’ into this investment. Verod is a leading West African private equity investor seeking to partner with fast growing companies which have the potential to become large, dominant, and sustainable enterprises.

This case study focuses on BluePeak Private Capital Fund’s investment in Africure, a leading manufacturer and distributor of essential generic pharmaceutical products operating across more than 10 African countries, and investigates how they are integrating ‘SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing’ into this investment.

The second case study in this series focuses on Injaro Investments, and their commitment to building a world free of hunger through their investment in Ghanaian agribusiness, Agricare.

The first case study in this series focuses on the pan-African PE fund manager, Metier, and their commitment to building a world free of poverty through their investment in South African FMCG company, Nature’s Choice (Pty) Ltd.

AVCA is pleased to announce the publication of the 2017 Exit Study, How private equity investors create value. Presented by EY and AVCA, the study examines PE exits between 2007–16 using data drawn from both public sources and confidential interviews with former PE owners of exited businesses.

AVCA is pleased to announce the publication of the 2016 exit study, How private equity investors create value. Presented by EY and AVCA, the study examines PE exits between 2007–15 using data drawn from both public sources and confidential interviews with former PE owners of exited businesses.

The update to the 2013 AVCA and EY’s study Broadening horizons: how do private equity investors create value? highlights a strengthening market for private equity exits in Africa. Private equity firms exited 40 companies between 1 January and 31 December 2014, a 38% increase from 29 exits in 2013.

This is the second of our annual studies of how private equity (PE) investors create value in Africa. In our inaugural report, we countered popular opinion about PE in Africa to prove that the industry was making excellent progress in exiting its portfolio companies. We also provided evidence of genuine value creation by PE firms in the region through hands-on involvement in the companies they back.

This joint research piece, looking at value creation through exit deals across Africa, provides an answer to the commonly asked question “are there exits in Africa?” The continent’s stock markets, other than the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, are still very small and relatively illiquid, and the intermediary networks remain far from complete across the region. As a result, a widely held perception is that exits are hard to achieve and that therefore they are few in number. However, our analysis points to a higher level of exit activity than might be expected.