Joining presenters Geoff Cutmore, Steve Sedgwick and Karen Tso, Michelle Kathryn Essomé appeared on CNBC’s flagship Squawk Box show on Friday, 31/1. Acknowledging the opportunities to be found across a continent that ‘has been overlooked for so long’, Michelle’s interviewers were keen to discover why now is the best time for investors to be looking at Africa, and why AVCA believes private capital flows to Africa will continue to grow in light of US monetary tightening, after all, private equity investments are, by nature, patient capital. Michelle profiled a few reasons:
- Returning educated diaspora, bringing wealth and expertise
- Emerging consumer class
- A continent free from malaise and debt, that is hungry for growth
These positive factors are not unknown to the private equity investor community. According to AVCA statistics, 2013 saw significant investment from PE and VC fund managers across the continent, with just under $3 billion invested through around 100 deals. West Africa has seen a particular prevalence of deal-making activity, attracting around 35% of investments made (compared to 26% in East Africa and 18% in Southern Africa). This energy and ambition to use private capital as a catalyst for change, among other factors, is the reason that AVCA will be holding its 11th annual conference in Lagos, Nigeria on 31st March – 2nd April.
To read more about AVCA’s annual conference, please view: www.avcaconference.com
To watch Michelle on CNBC Europe, please see: here
@AVCA_Africa #AVCAAfrica
