Since January 2021, Africa has mobilized a total of $895 million in private equity investment, we learned. The largest PE transaction was carried out by SPE Capital Partners for its first fund targeting Africa and the Middle East. The company raised $258 million for an initial target of $200 million.

"This is an important milestone for our young company. We are grateful for the strong vote of confidence from our investors, whose unwavering support has been invaluable. The challenging environment in which we currently find ourselves underscores the importance of investing in resilient sectors and high-quality businesses," said Nabil Triki, Managing Partner and CEO of SPE Capital, upon closing of the transaction.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) comes second with $250 million raised from the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. government agency responsible for international development finance.

"This financing will ensure that we continue to pursue our objectives in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic which placed greater responsibility on development finance institutions in their strategy to support sustainable economic recovery across Africa," said Samaila Zubairu, President and Director of AFC.

Even the smallest mobilization of financial resources is essential for Africa; a continent where accessing capital and financial markets is a headache. The large size of the informal sector on the continent has made it difficult to evaluate accurately the economic and financial impact of the pandemic on businesses.

Beyond the mobilization of these resources, other challenges will be to find investment opportunities as many sectors on the continent need resources.

Idriss Linge