By region

*2021 relates to the six-month period ended Jun30

The trend of Pan African fundraising continued into 2021, with fund managers predominantly Pan African focused as opposed to having a region-specific fund mandate.

South Africa has not been subjected to the same extreme changes in fundraising as the rest of Africa, illustrating the structural differences between the two markets. According to Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), southern African fundraising declined in 2020. However, the decline was not as great as that of the 2016-2018 period, despite the headwinds Covid-19 caused. The 22.1% decline in fundraising compares to a 19.1% decline in global PE fundraising. Nonetheless, global PE fundraising rebounded significantly in 2021, with H1 2021 global PE fundraising 57.9% up on H1 2020. It is interesting to observe southern Africa following suit. AVCA is already reporting USD1.3bn private equity fundraising in Africa being raised for the broader continent in the first half of 2021 when including final and interim closes.