• Africa’s private equity market is shifting as exits increasingly involve sales between funds rather than IPOs or strategic buyers.
• Q2 2025 saw 147 transactions, with mega deals rebounding, but insiders stress mid-sized peer-to-peer trades drive real momentum.
• Peer-to-peer acquisitions are creating new liquidity corridors, signaling growing maturity and resilience in Africa’s capital markets.

In an interview with CNBC Africa on August 15, Stears senior analyst Nchedolisa Akuma said private equity exits increasingly involve sales to other funds rather than to strategic buyers or through initial public offerings. “We are seeing more funds acquiring directly from their peers. It’s not just about size—it’s about liquidity and confidence within the ecosystem,” Akuma told CNBC.

The numbers illustrate the shift. Stears’ Q2 2025 Private Capital in Africa Activity Report, cited during the interview, shows that the continent recorded 147 private capital transactions in the quarter, a sharp jump from 105 in the first three months of the year (later revised to 125). Deals above $75 million represented 11% of disclosed value, more than double the 5% share in Q1, underscoring a rebound in large-ticket activity after a sluggish start to the year.

Still, insiders stress that the real momentum is not just in headline-grabbing mega deals but in a deeper pipeline of mid-sized acquisitions that rarely cross into public view. These transactions are increasingly structured as fund-to-fund sales, keeping assets within Africa’s private equity ecosystem while providing much-needed liquidity.

The shift reflects a gradual maturation of Africa’s capital markets. Public listings remain rare, and global economic headwinds often constrain trade sales to multinationals. Against that backdrop, private equity firms are engineering their own exit options by selling to peers. “The fact that you can sell to another fund and recycle capital quickly means the ecosystem is getting stronger,” Akuma said. By creating these internal liquidity corridors, managers can redeploy capital faster into new opportunities, boosting deal flow and sustaining fundraising momentum.

This development mirrors a practice common in more mature markets, where secondary buyouts form a routine part of the exit landscape. For Africa, where thin public markets and patchy foreign investor appetite often bottleneck exits, the emergence of peer-to-peer activity may prove even more critical.

Peer-to-peer deals are emerging across a range of sectors. In financial services, where African fintechs have attracted heavy venture backing, private equity firms are now stepping in to acquire growth-stage players from early investors, particularly in payments and digital lending. In energy, funds are taking over renewable and off-grid infrastructure portfolios from their peers, betting that demand for clean power solutions will keep rising across frontier markets. Consumer goods and agribusiness are also active arenas, as funds seek exposure to Africa’s growing middle class and food security dynamics.

According to industry trackers, healthcare and education are likely to feature more prominently in the next wave of intra-PE acquisitions, as funds target sectors resilient to macroeconomic shocks. None of this means large-ticket transactions are losing relevance. In fact, their rebound highlights renewed investor appetite. The return of deals north of $75 million shows that capital is still willing to back Africa’s biggest opportunities, particularly in infrastructure, telecoms and banking.

But analysts argue that while mega deals provide the optics of momentum, the real signal of market depth lies in the “steady churn” of peer-to-peer trades. These mid-sized deals ensure the recycling of capital, broaden the buyer universe, and reduce reliance on global exit windows that may open only sporadically.

For investors, the emerging picture is a dual reality. Mega deals will continue to act as a barometer of appetite, drawing global attention and setting benchmarks for valuation. Yet the ecosystem’s health may increasingly be measured by the volume of private equity-to-private equity activity—transactions that build internal resilience and allow African capital markets to chart a more independent course. As Akuma noted, confidence within the ecosystem itself is becoming a more powerful driver than external validation. That, more than the size of the latest deal, may prove to be the defining marker of Africa’s private equity evolution.

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