Introduction
This Bright Africa Private Equity report focuses on the PE ecosystem in 2025 – including fundraising, dry powder, investments and pricing – and considers some interesting trends.
learn more
Fundraising over time
African private equity fundraising over the 2016-2025 period has been clearly cyclical. Following the 2019 high of USD 4.23bn, fundraising contracted in 2020 before rebounding sharply in 2021 and continuing into 2022.
learn more
Dry Powder
We have estimated the dry powder of the African Private Equity Industry, using fundraising data and the average deployment period RisCura observed.
learn more
Investment activity over time
Transaction activity serves as a proxy for the availability of investable opportunities across African markets.
learn more
Exits
Over the past five years, private equity exits in Africa have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent gradual reopening of capital markets.
learn more
Private Equity Pricing
The median EV/EBITDA multiples of listed equity across Africa ex-SA have derated materially over the study period, falling from approximately 8.5x in June 2015 to a cycle low of 4.7x in April 2023, before recovering to 6.4x by June 2025.
learn more
Conclusion
When considered across the investment cycle rather than at a single point in time, African private equity reveals greater complexity than headline fundraising or pricing data alone indicate.
learn more