Key takeaways from the 3rd Sub-Saharan Africa Private Equity Breakfast
August, 2025
CMS South Africa and Pedersen & Partners co-hosted the 3rd Sub-Saharan Africa Private Equity Breakfast in Johannesburg.
The event brought together representatives from local and international private equity and venture capital firms for discussions and networking around current market dynamics and sector developments.
The panel discussion was moderated by Michael Al-Nassir, Partner, Head of Private Equity APMEA, Pedersen & Partners, and Kabelo Dlothi, Director, Co-Head of Corporate & Commercial, CMS South Africa.
Panelists included:
- Greg Babaya – Managing Principal, STANLIB Infrastructure
- Jesmane Boggenpoel – Chief Investment Officer, AIH Capital
- Dominique Collett – General Partner, AlphaCode Venture Partners
- Nthime Khoele – Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Bopa Moruo Private Equity
- Halekopane Matsipa – CEO & Founder, Kleoss Capital
- Warren van der Merwe – Managing Partner, Vantage Capital
- Idan Segal – Chief Investment Officer & Founding Partner, Convergence Partners
- Geoff Wilmot – Executive, RMB Corvest
Key takeaways from the event:
Valuations
- Life Cycle Valuation: Entry and exit valuations are typically the focus, but life cycle valuation is becoming increasingly important. Hybrid fund structures are being used to classify fund classes, especially where long-term holds are a priority.
- Impact of Hyper-Inflation: Hyper-inflationary environments continue to affect valuations in many markets.
- Valuation Methodologies: Deciding which valuation methodology to use remains a challenge. DCF (discounted cash flow) valuations are less reliable now, and switching to traditional multiples (revenue and EBITDA) is still difficult.
Strategies for Effective Exits
- Uncertainty: The world is facing unprecedented uncertainty due to factors like COVID, real wars, trade wars, and load shedding, which are affecting price expectations and making exits more challenging.
- Leadership and Non-Executives: Strong management and succession planning are crucial for enabling exits. Bringing in strong Non-Executive Board Directors with subject matter expertise can enhance strategy development and add to credibility.
Value Creation
- Leadership Changes: Leadership changes are necessary to manage portfolio growth. For infrastructure funds, yield is more important than growth, and project management skills are in deficit.
- Investor Support: Founders need compassionate investors who will support them during tough times, as losing investor confidence can make it impossible to perform and meet expectations.
Fundraising
- Positive Trend: There is a positive trend in fundraising in South Africa, with significant involvement from South African pension funds. However, the Sub-Saharan Africa Private Equity market is still DFI-heavy, and macro dynamics like the US-RSA fallout does impact fundraising.
Family Offices in the Private Equity Space
- Growing Opportunity: Family Offices are increasingly becoming LPs and as well as direct investors, presenting a growing opportunity but also competition for PE funds. Co-investing with Family Offices can unlock proprietary or off-market opportunities.
Sector-Specific Challenges
- Infrastructure: The African continent has a limited number of datacentres, which is a challenge for growth, especially for AI use. Energy, power, transportation, and social infrastructure are all regulated, presenting changes for the investors.
We thank all participants for their contributions and look forward to continuing the dialogue at future Private Equity Breakfast events.