News

August 2026

Pedersen & Partners and CMS South Africa co-hosted the 4th Sub-Saharan Africa Private Equity Breakfast in Johannesburg on 20th August 2026.

Under the theme “Performance Over Promises: Redefining Success in African Private Markets,” the event brought together private equity and investment leaders to discuss performance, value creation, capital formation, infrastructure and exits across African private markets.

The discussion was opened by co-chairs Michael Al-Nassir, Partner, Head of Private Equity APMEA, Pedersen & Partners, and Kabelo Dlothi, Director, Co-Head of Corporate & Commercial, CMS South Africa.

Panellists included:

• Yvonne Maitin – Managing Partner, One Africa Capital
• Sipho Makhubela - Chief Executive Officer, Harith
• Meta Mhlarhi - Director & Co-Founder, Mahlako
• Pindie Nyandoro – Regional Director Southern Africa, Norfund
• Mamokete Ramathe – Founder & CEO, Mamor Capital
• Peter Rowse - Director & Principal, Metier
• Eric Soubeiga – Partner Private Equity, Enko Capital

The key takeaways from the discussion were:

Market Outlook, Deal Flow, and Valuations

• Valuations should focus on sustainable revenue and customer retention rather than top-line vanity metrics.
• Platform models with strong operating leverage and low marginal client acquisition costs continue to attract premium valuations.
• Currency risk remains a challenge when hard currency is raised for deployment in local markets.
• Founder succession planning is key to bridging valuation gaps and building businesses beyond a single entrepreneur.
• Investing during turnaround phases can capture both earnings growth and valuation arbitrage.

Capital Formation, LP Expectations

• DFIs continue to prioritise additionality and catalytic roles, reducing reliance on development capital.
• Technical assistance and anchor investments are important in building institutional-grade fund managers.

Value Creation, Leadership, and Impact

• Active investor involvement during disruptions strengthens management alignment and downside resilience.
• Strategic initiatives should focus on two or three priorities, supported by external advisers where needed.
• Founders who can start a business may not always be equipped to scale it, making executive team alignment essential.
• Portfolio-wide synergies can create commercial upside and shared market insights.
• Operational improvements, including shorter supply-chain transit times and emissions reductions, demonstrate tangible impact.

Infrastructure, Energy Transition, and Scaling Across Africa

• Initial projects should be appropriately sized to manage risk and avoid lengthy development delays.
• Long-term infrastructure viability depends on robust contracts, predictable cash flows and clear risk allocation.
• Transport corridors and intra-African trade infrastructure are essential to broader economic growth.
• Blended finance and credit guarantees can de-risk projects without crowding out private capital.
• Positioning projects as investable commercial assets is key to attracting global institutional capital.

Liquidity, Secondaries, and Strategic Exits

• DPI has become a defining performance metric, increasingly outweighing prospective IRR for international LPs.
• Integrated platforms can attract broader buyer demand than fragmented standalone assets.
• Multiple exit channels help preserve deal optionality.
• Faster exits can help prevent value erosion in volatile markets.
• Stronger secondary markets require closing the pricing and realisation gap for incoming capital.

We thank all speakers and participants who joined and contributed to the exchange