Private Capital
Q1 2026 Africa Private Capital Fundraising Report
Track Who Is Committing, Where Capital Is Flowing, and What It Means for African Private Markets
The Q1 2026 Africa Private Capital Fundraising Report from Stears delivers the most up-to-date intelligence on LP commitments into Africa-focused fund vehicles. Drawing on verified data from the Stears Private Transactions Database, this report tracks which LPs are actively committing capital, how commitment sizes are evolving, and which fund strategies and sectors are attracting the most attention.
What's Inside the Report?
LP League Tables: The most active LPs in Q1 2026 were DEG (Germany), Proparco (France), and British International Investment (UK), with DFIs accounting for the majority of tracked commitments by value.
Commitment Size Analysis: 55% of all disclosed commitments in Q1 2026 fell in the $7.5M–$25M range, nearly double the 30% recorded in the same period in 2025.
Fund Type Breakdown: Venture capital overtook private equity in LP commitment volume for Q1 2026, accounting for 36% of all tracked commitments.
Sectoral Insights: Energy and Utilities featured in 60% of all LP commitments, the most represented sector in the quarter by a significant margin.
Historical First-Quarter Trends: Q1 2026 is the strongest first quarter for African private capital since 2022 by commitment volume, signalling renewed LP confidence in the asset class.
LP Intelligence for GPs in Market: Understand who is allocating capital into African private capital fund vehicles, at what size, and with what sector and geography preferences.
