African private equity firms double fundraising in a year

African funds raised US$4-billion (R75.5-billion) in 2024 — double the value from a year earlier — to invest in start-ups and infrastructure projects, according to the African Private Capital Association.

Investors included development finance institutions, African pension funds, insurers and corporate entities, the association said in a statement on Thursday. Private equity firms also exited 63 companies, a sign of some economic improvement on the continent, it said in a statement.

“The rise of African institutional investors, growing infrastructure allocation, and the rebound in exits all point to a deepening and maturing private capital market,” Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, chief executive officer of the association, said in the statement. Domestic-capital mobilisation in a “complex global environment” means that the “ecosystem is adapting, pursuing smaller deal sizes”, she said.

Inflows of venture capital funding for African start-ups declined by 22% to $3.6-billion last year

Inflows of venture capital funding for African start-ups declined by 22% to $3.6-billion last year, the association said in a separate report on Monday. That makes financing from local investors crucial for start-ups as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs upend global markets, reducing demand for risky assets.

Trump also gutted the US Agency for International Development, which offered grants and invested in early-stage companies on the continent.

The US president announced this month he’ll apply tariffs of at least 10% on most goods coming into the US to counter trade imbalances, with higher duties on some 60 nations.