Q3 2026 Africa Private Capital Fundraising Report
Analysing trends in private capital fundraising in Africa.
The Q3 2026 Africa Private Capital Fundraising Report analyses fundraising activity across African private capital fund vehicles during the third quarter of 2026. It examines LP commitments, the fund vehicles attracting capital, and funds reaching key fundraising milestones. The report provides insights into the investors, fund types, sectors, and investment geographies attracting capital.
Key takeaways
Fundraising activity fell to its lowest third-quarter level since 2020: Africa recorded 52 LP commitments in Q3 2026, down 26% from Q2 and 46% from Q3 2025. Disclosed commitment value fell to $366.5 million, representing declines of 18% quarter-on-quarter and 49% year-on-year.
LP commitments became more concentrated among fewer funds: Only 21 fund vehicles received commitments in Q3, down from 40 in Q2. As a result, the average number of commitments per fund increased from 1.8 to 2.5. CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund II, AgDevCo Ventures, and Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund II collectively accounted for 37% of all commitments.
12 funds reached closing milestones in Q3: Seven fund vehicles reached first close, with an aggregate reported closing value of $725.6 million. Another two reached second close ($75.5 million), while three reached final close ($577.7 million).
LP commitments were concentrated in recent fund vintages: Funds with 2025 and 2026 vintage years accounted for 77% of LP commitment volume and 79% of disclosed value. Together, these vintages represented 16 of the 21 fund vehicles receiving commitments, with 2026-vintage funds attracting more commitments per vehicle.
Commitments below $20 million dominated disclosed activity: These accounted for 85% of disclosed commitments in Q3, up from 73% in Q2. The $10-$20 million range alone represented 50%. Although the average disclosed commitment rose slightly to $18.3 million, it fell to $14.8 million when the Nigerian government's $85.3 million DICE commitment was excluded.
DFIs continued to dominate disclosed fundraising value: Swedfund International and Proparco were the most active LPs, with three commitments each. DFIs accounted for $262.2 million, or 72% of disclosed commitment value, up from 59% in Q2. The Nigerian government's $85.3 million seed commitment to its DICE Fund of Funds also contributed significantly to the quarter's reported value.
VC remained the leading fund type despite a sharp decline in activity: Venture capital accounted for 37% of LP commitment volume and disclosed value. However, VC commitments declined from 35 in Q2 to 19 in Q3, while the number of fund vehicles receiving commitments fell from 17 to six, indicating greater concentration among fewer VC funds.
Private credit attracted larger disclosed allocations despite fewer commitments: Private credit commitments fell from 16 in Q2 to ten in Q3, while disclosed value increased by 10% to $103 million. FinDev Canada's $73 million across two private credit funds accounted for 71% of the category's disclosed value.
Africa-only funds were more resilient than funds with broader international mandates: Funds investing exclusively in Africa accounted for 83% of Q3 commitments, up from 66% in Q2. Their commitment volume declined by just 7%, compared to a 63% decline among Africa+ funds. This suggests that Africa-focused mandates can continue attracting LP capital without necessarily expanding their geographical reach.
Agriculture and Financial Services overtook Information Technology by commitment volume: Agriculture featured in 62% of Q3 commitments, followed by Financial Services at 60%, with both sectors recording higher absolute commitment counts despite the overall slowdown. Information Technology remained the leading sector by disclosed value, appearing in 44% of the quarter's reported capital.
Q3 2026 Fundraising Overview
Q3 2026 was a slower fundraising quarter relative to recent periods. In Q3 2026, there were 52 recorded LP commitments into 21 unique GP fund vehicles, down from 70 commitments (revised during the quarter) into 40 fund vehicles in Q2 2026. Q3 2026 fundraising figures were also lower than the corresponding period in 2025, which had 96 LP commitments to 46 separate fund vehicles. Disclosed commitment value also fell to $366.5 million, compared to $449.4 million in the preceding quarter and $718.1 million in Q3 2025.
This represents a 26% quarter-on-quarter decline in commitment volume and an 18% reduction in disclosed value, with even sharper year-on-year declines of 46% and 49%, respectively.
The decline came despite a slight improvement in disclosure rates, with 38% of LP commitments disclosing a specific amount, compared to 37% in Q2 2026 and 32% in Q3 2025. However, the absolute number of disclosed commitments fell to 20, down from 26 in Q2 2026 and 31 in Q3 2025, contributing to the lower reported value.
Looking at fund closing activity, seven fund vehicles reached first close in Q3 2026, with an aggregate reported closing value of $725.6 million. Another two funds reached second close, with a combined value of $75.5 million, while three reached final close, with an aggregate value of $577.7 million. These closing values reflect capital raised over the fundraising period, including commitments made before Q3.
Notably, the decline in the number of fund vehicles receiving commitments was sharper than the fall in LP commitment volume. As a result, the average number of commitments per fund vehicle rose from 1.8 in Q2 to 2.5 in Q3, indicating that fundraising became more concentrated among fewer funds.
Notable Commitments
The largest disclosed commitment in the quarter was the Nigerian government's $85.3 million anchor commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds, established under its Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme. This was effectively the government providing seed capital to its own fund, which is managed by Kuramo Capital and targets a minimum capitalisation of $170.6 million to support venture capital investment in Nigeria's technology and creative sectors. This single commitment accounted for 23% of the quarter's disclosed value.
Outside that, Helios Investors V received $75 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), while Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund II received $40 million from Development Finance Institute Canada (FinDev Canada).
In terms of fund vehicles, the CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund II was the most prolific in the quarter, receiving eight separate commitments from international and domestic LPs ranging from International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Access ARM Pensions Limited. Agriculture funds were also well-supported, with the AgDevCo Ventures fund receiving 6 commitments and the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund II (ARAF II) receiving 5 commitments. Together, these three vehicles accounted for 37% of all LP commitments in the quarter. This concentration echoes the earlier point about the increase in the average number of commitments per fund vehicle in Q3—essentially, fundraising dollars went to a smaller set of fund vehicles.
Looking at historical third-quarter trends, Q3 2026 was the weakest third quarter for African private capital fundraising since 2020, both in commitment volume and disclosed value. The 52 commitments recorded were below every third-quarter figure between 2021 and 2025, while the $366.5 million in disclosed value was also the lowest over the same period. This indicates a significant slowdown in LP commitment activity compared to recent years.
LP Commitments by Fund Vintage Year
Fundraising activity in Q3 2026 was concentrated among fund vehicles with recent vintage years. Funds with a 2026 vintage accounted for half of all LP commitments in the quarter (26), representing $172.3 million or 47% of disclosed value. Funds with a 2025 vintage followed with 14 commitments and $117.7 million in disclosed value. Together, these two vintages accounted for 77% of commitment volume and 79% of disclosed value. Older vintages, dating from 2021 to 2024, accounted for the remaining 12 commitments.
Looking at the fund vehicles themselves, 16 of the 21 vehicles that received commitments were vintage 2025 or 2026, with eight vehicles in each group. However, the 2026-vintage vehicles attracted an average of 3.3 LP commitments each, compared to 1.8 for 2025-vintage vehicles. This indicates that LP participation during the quarter was particularly concentrated in the latest fund vintage, even though the two years were evenly split in terms of vehicle count.
Q3 2026 Commitment Sizes
In terms of commitment sizes, Q3 2026 was heavily concentrated in the $10-$20 million range, which accounted for 50% of disclosed commitments during the quarter, up from 23% in Q2 2026 and 26% in Q3 2025. Commitments below $10 million accounted for another 35%, down from 50% in Q2 2026. Overall, 85% of disclosed commitments were below $20 million, compared to 73% in Q2 2026 and 61% in Q3 2025. Larger commitments were less frequent, with the $20-$50 million and $50 million+ buckets accounting for 10% and 5%, respectively.
Despite this concentration, the average disclosed commitment rose slightly to $18.3 million in Q3 2026, up from $17.3 million in Q2. However, the Nigerian government's $85.3 million commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds, discussed earlier, significantly influenced this figure. Excluding this commitment, the average disclosed commitment in Q3 falls to $14.8 million. This illustrates the extent to which a single large allocation influenced the quarter's reported figures, even as the broader distribution shifted towards smaller commitments.
Q3 2026 LP League Tables
The most active LPs in Q3 2026 were Swedfund International and Proparco, each recording three commitments into African private capital fund vehicles. Proparco's activity declined slightly from five commitments in Q2 2026, while Swedfund became more prominent. FinDev Canada and British International Investment (BII) followed with two commitments each.
In terms of disclosed commitment value, as highlighted earlier, the Nigerian government's $85.3 million commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds was the largest allocation in the quarter, followed by the EBRD investment in Helios Investors V. FinDev Canada followed with $73 million across two fund vehicles, while Swedfund and Proparco each committed $37 million across three vehicles.
Development finance institutions (DFIs) continued to dominate disclosed fundraising value. Their combined commitments reached $262.2 million in Q3 2026, broadly unchanged from $263.9 million in Q2. However, their share of total disclosed value increased from 59% to 72%, reflecting the decline in overall fundraising value. Including the Nigerian government's commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds, public and development-backed institutions accounted for approximately 95% of disclosed value. These figures should be interpreted with some caution, as DFIs generally disclose their commitment amounts more readily than private investors, whose participation is therefore less visible in the value data.
Looking at geographical origin, European LPs accounted for 43% of disclosed commitment value, followed by African LPs (31%) and North American LPs (24%). However, most of the African value came from the Nigerian government's DICE commitment. Excluding this allocation, African-based LPs recorded $29.7 million in disclosed commitments. Their participation was also evident among investors whose commitment amounts were undisclosed, particularly Nigerian pension fund managers.
Within private equity (PE), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP Group) led in disclosed commitment value with a $20 million commitment to RMBV North Africa Fund III by Riyada Managers in North Africa. Commitment volume was more widely distributed, with no LP recording more than one PE commitment during the quarter. Notably, three Nigerian pension fund managers, Access ARM Pensions, FCMB Pensions, and Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, each backed a PE fund. Together, they accounted for at least three of the 13 PE commitments recorded in Q3. Although they did not disclose their commitment values, their participation is significant given the historically limited role of domestic pension capital in African PE fundraising.
In venture capital (VC), LP activity was similarly dispersed, with 19 commitments recorded across 19 different LPs. However, disclosed value was heavily concentrated in the Nigerian government's $85.3 million DICE allocation, which accounted for 63% of total disclosed VC commitment value. Excluding this allocation, disclosed VC commitments totalled $49.5 million. FMO was the largest remaining VC backer by disclosed value, with $12.5 million, followed by Swedfund and Proparco, which each committed $12 million.
Private credit recorded a more concentrated pattern of LP activity. FinDev Canada and Swedfund were the most active investors, each backing two private credit fund vehicles. Together, they accounted for four of the ten private credit commitments recorded in Q3. They also dominated disclosed value, with FinDev Canada committing $73 million and Swedfund $25 million. Their combined $98 million represented 95% of disclosed private credit commitment value.
Q3 2026 Fundraising by Fund Type
Venture capital (VC) remained the leading fund type in Q3 2026, accounting for 37% of LP commitment volume and 37% of disclosed value. Its share of commitment volume fell from 50% in Q2 2026, while its share of disclosed value rose from 26%. VC also accounted for the largest share of fund vehicles receiving commitments, with six of the 21 vehicles (29%) recorded during the quarter.
Venture Capital: VC fundraising became more concentrated among fewer vehicles. The number of VC fund vehicles receiving commitments fell from 17 in Q2 to six in Q3, while LP commitments declined from 35 to 19. As a result, the average number of commitments per VC fund rose from 2.1 to 3.2. Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund II received five commitments, while Mamor Capital Ventures Fund I and Catalyst Climate Fund Resilience I received four each. Together, these three funds accounted for 68% of VC commitments. However, the Nigerian government's DICE Fund of Funds commitment heavily influenced disclosed VC value, accounting for 63% of the category's disclosed value.
Private equity: PE maintained its commitment volume at 13, accounting for 25% of Q3 activity, up from 19% in Q2. However, the number of PE fund vehicles receiving commitments fell from nine to five, with CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund II alone attracting eight commitments. The $75 million EBRD commitment to Helios Investors V was recorded after the quarterly analysis was completed. It is referenced among notable transactions but is excluded from the aggregate figures presented here.
Private Credit: Private credit fundraising also declined, with LP commitments falling from 16 to ten and the number of fund vehicles receiving commitments halving from ten to five. However, disclosed commitment value rose 10% to $103 million from $93.3 million, raising private credit's share of disclosed value from 21% to 28%. Activity was concentrated in two vehicles, BlueOrchard Climate Action Mobilisation Fund and Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund II, which received four and three commitments, respectively. Together, they accounted for 70% of private credit commitments, while FinDev Canada's $73 million in disclosed allocations to these funds represented 71% of private credit value.
Infrastructure: Infrastructure fundraising declined across commitment volume and disclosed value. The fund type recorded four LP commitments in Q3, down from six in Q2, while disclosed value fell from $69.7 million to $44.7 million. The number of fund vehicles remained unchanged at four, meaning each vehicle received one recorded LP commitment in the quarter. Infrastructure's share of disclosed value declined from 16% to 12%.
Q3 2026 Fundraising by Geographic Mandate
Fundraising activity in Q3 2026 was concentrated among funds with investment mandates restricted to Africa. These Africa-only funds accounted for 83% of LP commitments (43), up from 66% in Q2 2026. Their commitment volume declined by just 7%, from 46 to 43. In contrast, commitments to funds with mandates extending beyond Africa (Africa+) fell from 24 to nine. As a result, Africa+ funds accounted for 15 of the 18 net commitments lost between Q2 and Q3.
This suggests GPs can keep attracting LP capital with investment mandates focused exclusively on Africa without necessarily expanding their geographical reach. Africa-only funds were relatively resilient even as overall fundraising slowed, although this is an indicative finding based on recorded commitments rather than evidence of how individual managers have changed their mandates.
The value figures provide further context. Africa-only funds accounted for $288.5 million, or 79% of disclosed commitment value in Q3, compared to $265.9 million (59%) in Q2. However, the Nigerian government's $85.3 million commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds significantly influenced this result. Excluding that allocation, disclosed value for Africa-only funds was $203.2 million, down 24% from Q2, flagging that Africa-only fundraising was more resilient in commitment volume than in disclosed value.
Q3 2026 Sectoral Insights
Sector classifications in this report are multi-select, meaning that a single fund may have exposure to several sectors. As a result, each sector's figures reflect LP commitments into funds whose mandates include that sector. The same commitment may therefore appear under multiple sectors.
By LP commitment volume, Agriculture was the most represented sector in Q3 2026, featuring in 62% of all LP commitments (32), followed closely by Financial Services at 60% (31). Both sectors increased in absolute commitment counts despite the overall fundraising slowdown. Agriculture-related commitments rose from 22 in Q2 to 32 in Q3, while Financial Services increased from 26 to 31. The change was also significant year-on-year, with Agriculture's share rising from 26% in Q3 2025 to 62% in Q3 2026, and Financial Services increasing from 45% to 60%.
At the fund-vehicle level, Agriculture's strong performance was partly driven by repeat LP commitments into a small number of funds. AgDevCo Ventures received six commitments during the quarter, while Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund II received five. Together, these two fund vehicles accounted for 11 of the 32 Agriculture-related LP commitments, or 34%. This concentration is important when interpreting sector activity, as multiple commitments into the same fund contribute to the sector's commitment volume.
Information Technology, which led sector-related commitment volume in Q2, fell from 61% to 42% in Q3, with the number of commitments declining from 43 to 22. Energy & Utilities also recorded a decline, from 30 commitments to 15, while Industrials fell more sharply from 24 to eight. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare each appeared in 29% of commitments during the quarter.
Looking at disclosed LP commitment value, Information Technology remained the leading sector, accounting for 44% of total disclosed value ($161.3 million), followed closely by Consumer Discretionary at 42% ($152.3 million) and Financial Services at 41% ($150 million). Agriculture ranked fourth at 33% ($121.5 million), followed by Energy & Utilities at 28% ($102.7 million).
Consumer Discretionary recorded the largest increase in value share, rising from 8% in Q2 to 42% in Q3. Financial Services also increased considerably, from 22% to 41%, with its sector-linked disclosed value rising from $100 million to $150 million. As discussed earlier, the Nigerian government's $85.3 million commitment to the DICE Fund of Funds was a major contributor to the quarter's disclosed value. Given the multi-sector mandates of some fund vehicles, large individual commitments can influence the value recorded across several sectors.
Agriculture's performance was particularly interesting. Despite the increase in commitment volume, its disclosed sector-linked value declined slightly from $128.3 million in Q2 to $121.5 million in Q3. Information Technology saw a similar decline in absolute value, from $166.4 million to $161.3 million, but its share of total disclosed value rose from 37% to 44%. These differences show how changes in sector rankings can reflect both shifts in LP participation and the size of disclosed commitments.
Q3 2026 Fund Types across Sectors
Q3 2026 saw a shift in the types of funds attracting commitments across several sectors, with private equity (PE) becoming more prominent in Healthcare and consumer-related sectors. PE accounted for 73% of commitments in both Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary, up from 17% and 14%, respectively, in Q2. It also accounted for all ten Consumer Staples-related commitments. By disclosed value, PE represented 66% of Healthcare commitments and 100% of Consumer Staples commitments. However, a small number of funds drove much of this activity, particularly CardinalStone Capital Advisers Growth Fund II, which received eight of the quarter's 13 PE commitments.
Financial Services also experienced a significant change in its fund type distribution. Venture capital (VC) remained the largest category by volume, accounting for 42% of the sector's 31 commitments, down from its dominant position in Q2. PE followed with 32% and private credit with 26%. In disclosed value terms, private credit led with 52% of Financial Services-linked commitments, followed by PE (39%) and VC (9%). This indicates that fundraising linked to Financial Services was more evenly distributed across fund types by volume, while private credit attracted the largest disclosed allocations.
A similar shift occurred in Energy & Utilities, where private credit overtook infrastructure as the leading fund type. Private credit accounted for 40% of sector-related commitments and 56% of disclosed value, compared to infrastructure's 27% of volume and 44% of value. This marks a change from Q2, when infrastructure funds dominated disclosed Energy & Utilities-linked value. VC also accounted for 27% of commitments by volume, although none disclosed amounts.
Agriculture maintained a relatively balanced distribution across fund types. VC accounted for 38% of sector-related commitments, followed by PE (25%), private credit (19%), and impact funds (19%). By disclosed value, VC and private credit were closely matched, accounting for 37% and 35%, respectively, while PE represented 20%. Impact-fund activity was entirely concentrated in AgDevCo Ventures, which received six commitments during the quarter.
Information Technology remained strongly VC-led, with 64% of sector-related commitments directed to VC funds, down from 79% in Q2. VC also accounted for 61% of disclosed IT-linked value. However, the Nigerian government's $85.3 million DICE commitment represented most of the $98.3 million in disclosed IT-linked VC value. The same commitment influenced Consumer Discretionary, where VC accounted for 61% of disclosed value despite PE leading commitment volume. Excluding the DICE allocation, PE accounted for approximately 88% of the remaining disclosed Consumer Discretionary-linked value.
Methodology
This report is derived exclusively from the Stears Funds Database, accessible through the Stears Data Platform. The database monitors private capital fundraising activity in Africa, covering private equity, private credit, venture capital, infrastructure, and other private capital funds. Data on Limited Partner (LP) commitments are compiled from reliable third-party sources, including investor websites, press releases, and investor reports. Each LP commitment is independently verified against at least two sources.
Interpreting fundraising data
The report examines fundraising activity at two levels.
LP commitments: Each recorded commitment represents an LP allocating capital to a GP fund vehicle. A single fund may receive commitments from multiple LPs and will therefore appear multiple times in the commitment data. Commitment counts measure recorded allocations, not unique investors or funds raising capital.
Fund vehicles: The report also examines the unique GP fund vehicles receiving commitments during the quarter. Each fund is counted once, regardless of how many LP commitments it receives. This lets us assess the number and characteristics of funds attracting capital, alongside LP participation.
The report also tracks funds reaching first, second, and final close during the quarter. These fundraising milestones indicate progress in a fund's capital-raising process. The reported closing values may include commitments secured in earlier periods and should therefore be interpreted separately from the value of LP commitments recorded during Q3.
Data coverage and interpretation
Not all LP commitment amounts are publicly disclosed. Where amounts are unavailable, we include commitments in volume analysis but exclude them from disclosed-value calculations. Consequently, reported commitment values represent the capital for which amounts are publicly available, rather than the total capital committed during the period.
Some classifications, particularly investment sectors and geographical mandates, allow multiple selections. A fund may therefore appear in more than one category. Unless otherwise stated, percentages are calculated using the relevant number of unique commitments or fund vehicles, or their disclosed value. As a result, percentages across these categories may exceed 100%.
The database is also updated as new information becomes available. Historical figures may therefore differ from those published in earlier quarterly reports.
Why this approach matters
Examining both LP commitments and fund vehicles provides a more complete picture of African private capital fundraising. LP-level data shows how often investors allocate capital and which fund types they support. Fund-level analysis shows how widely this activity is distributed across fund managers and vehicles.
For example, an increase in LP commitments may reflect more investors backing a small number of funds, while the number of fund vehicles attracting capital could remain unchanged or decline. Analysing both measures helps distinguish changes in investor participation from changes in the number of funds successfully attracting capital. Fund closing data also provides context on fundraising progress, including milestones reached by funds that began raising capital earlier.
Get African private capital data at stears.co
