A pan-African investment management firm, Kuramo has projected more investments in the continent as global economic challenges, including persistent inflation and high interest rates ease.
Speaking after receiving special recognition for investing in Tran- sCentury PLC at the Private Equity Africa Awards held in London, United Kingdom, Kuramo Co-CEO, Shaka Kariuki commended the growth of private equity in Africa.
The Private Equity Africa (PEA) Awards celebrate excellence in private equity and venture capital investments across Africa. It aims to recognize outstanding firms, deals, and individuals that contribute to the growth and development of the African economy through impactful investments.
Private Equity investment in the continent is expected to grow by 7.14 per cent in 2025 on stable micro and macroeconomics after a tough 2024. By the end of the third quarter, private equity had injected $1.9 billion into Africa’s economy, a 53 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2023.
This amount is well below the five-year average of $4.2 billion, marking the worst start to the year for African investments in five years. The total number of deals, while also down, saw a less severe decline, with 287 transactions recorded since January.
According to the latest report from the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA), for the first time in five years, smaller deals—under $50 million—make up the majority of transactions, accounting for 66 per cent of the total.
Large deals nearly vanished, with no transactions over $250 million, and deals in the $50 million to $99 million range have dropped by 92 per cent.
Even so, Kuramo, which has helped catalyse nearly $3.5 billion to African private equity firms and businesses in the past 15 years, is anticipating a better 2025 as inflation is expected to decline from 7.1 per cent in 2023 to 4.9 per cent in 2024 and 4.6 per cent in 2025–26 due to tighter monetary and fiscal policies, stabilized currencies and eased supply chain disruptions.
As the pioneering fund-of-funds for sub-Saharan Africa, Kuramo Capital has had a tremendous impact in leading catalytic capital into the sub-Saharan Africa private equity ecosystem.
It has served as an anchor investor in 15 first-time indigenous private equity funds and has played a significant role in raising over $3 billion toward investing in sub-Saharan African companies.
Kuramo has direct and indirect investments in 200 companies in 30 sub-Saharan African countries including Kenya and Nigeria in various sectors including Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Infrastructure-Power, Agribusiness, Technology, and Financial Services.
In 2016, Kuramo Capital Management invested $20 million into TransCentury, acquiring a 25 per cent company stake. Following continued confidence in the business, Kuramo increased its stake to the current 75 per cent.
“We are fortunate at Kuramo that our investment teams are based on the ground. We have exposure to robust opportunities to look at in the pipeline daily, which allows us to narrow down to companies that fit our investment criteria. It is through these criteria that we invested in TransCentury,” Kariuki said.
He said the investment was driven by good governance, a strategy to move the company to the next level and the right management team.
The Fund of Funds Investor Award was also given to Kuramo for their $150 million investment into 2X Ig- nite Africa Investment Facility for Warehousing Capital and Moremi Accelerator Programme, an initiative to empower the next generation of African women enterprises and promote gender-equitable fund management.
“At Kuramo we are sensitive to the fact that Private Equity, not only in Africa but globally, there are not as many women running private equity opportunities.”
During the PEA Awards, Kuramo’s Founder and CEO Adewale Adeosun was also named this year’s Limited Partner Person of the Year, an award based on GP recommendations. Adeosun has been instrumental in the growth of Kuramo’s investment portfolio since its inception.
“I am honored and humbled to have received the LP Person of the Year award. It is a testament to all the work we at Kuramo have been doing for over 10 years,’’ Adeosun said.
“We started as a Sub-Sahara private equity shop. We are now Pan
African, and we do have a goal to
continue investing in other countries that are growing fast and we are
finding great opportunities. “
