Over the last decade, the main driver of economic progress across the African continent has arguably not been Official Development Assistance flows but growth, underpinned by private sector activity. This trend is set to continue, with private capital forecast to be the most important source of long-term finance. At the same time, an increase in the levels of social inequality and environmental degradation in many African countries has underscored the importance of a more inclusive model of progress.

RisCura, AVCA and SAVCA are pleased to present the first edition of The search for returns: Investor views on private equity in Africa report. The purpose of this report is to provide stakeholders with views on private equity in Africa from the Limited Partner’s (LP’s) perspective. This study examines future investment plans into African private equity, the region’s relative attractiveness, expected return drivers, preferred investment vehicles, and the challenges to investing in the region.

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.