The upside of investing in African markets
13/12/2006. Africa's political leaders are taking major steps to build a better foundation for investment, according to the chairperson of Circle Capital Ventures, Mamphela Ramphele, addressing the 14th annual Wharton Africa Business Forum. Ramphele, a former managing director of the World Bank, said that the continent has made historic efforts to affirm good governance, build strong institutions and fight corruption.

Unlocking venture capital and private equity for Africa's common interest
11/10/2006. This paper presents the African Venture Capital Association's response to the Commission for Africa report which recommended a series of actions to provide crucial support for the Millennium Development Goals for Africa.

Venture capital firms in Africa and their investees
07/06/2006. This policy brief from the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit focuses on presenting the key findings of a detailed report aimed at empirically identifying factors that influenced the number of investees in the portfolios of selected venture capital firms in Africa.

Investing in Africa can be a challenge - but good deals are on the horizon
10/05/2006. Winston Churchill once described Russia as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The same might be said today about the economy of Africa, says Knowledge Wharton, but private equity houses should take note, Africa is showing signs that it has begun to break out of decades of economic malaise.

The climate for private sector development in Africa
19/11/2003. Far-reaching economic reforms introduced throughout much of Africa in the 1990s have begun to create a more stable and attractive environment for private investment, according to the International Finance Corporation.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor South Africa 2001
18/06/2002. The key to improving levels of new business growth in South Africa is education, says this report for the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. While not desperate - South Africa has average rates of entrepreneurial activity in international terms - there are concerns about the lack of a ready supply of entrepreneurs.

Private equity comes into its own at last in SA
30/04/2002. Private equity is a relatively small asset class in South Africa both in relation to other traditional asset classes and compared to the size of the market elsewhere. There is an estimated R10-15bn currently invested with as many as 50 players. Marcia Klein from the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa looks at the emerging market.

Private equity in Nigeria
30/04/2002. A volatile domestic market in Nigeria means that investors must be wary. Factors that influence decision-making in other regions may not apply in Africa. Obinna Isiadinson, a student studying at Harvard University , says that there is plenty of opportunity - you just need to know where to look.

Venture capital for industrial development
20/03/2002. The risks associated with investing in developing countries and the limited nature of the VC industry has made institutions wary of committing capital to Africa. Adrie de Groot of UNIDO outlines the problems that the African VC industry is facing and proposes a scheme that would aid the industry's success across this continent.

Gensec Survey 2002
12/02/2002. South Africa, along with many other countries of the world, is unlikely to be immune to the slowdown and uncertainty being experienced in the US, says this survey from Gensec Bank. The survey looks at the present economic climate in South Africa so that investors may ascertain whether this country is an attractive investment destination.

Challenges facing venture capital in Africa
05/02/2002. The African private equity industry is still in its infancy, but it has been growing steadily in the past few years. At the end of 2000, the South African private equity industry had approximately ZAR33bn under management. Paul Inbona from Modern Africa looks at the key obstacles that venture capitalists must overcome in Africa if the industry is to grow.

The struggle for economic growth in Africa
11/12/2001. African nations are in desperate need of investment capital to jump-start economies that lack such basic infrastructure as roads, railways and electric power. This was the message from three African leaders in Philadelphia last month to attend the biennial summit of the Corporate Council on Africa. In a discussion moderated by James Harmon, former chairman of the Export-Import Bank, African officials offered a blueprint to help Africa compete in the global economy. Knowledge Wharton reports.

The growth and prospect for venture capital activities in Nigeria.
03/10/2001. The Nigerian government has recognised that the small business sector is key to stimulating a knowledge-driven economy. As a result, the potential for venture capital investors is rapidly increasing.

Institutional investment and the private equity market in South Africa
06/06/2001. The private equity market in South Africa is blighted by a lack of institutional investment. Despite tremendous growth of the industry in recent years, South African institutions are slow to come up with the cash.

1999 South Africa private equity survey
29/05/2001. The South African private equity industry has seen strong growth, boasting almost R28bn of capital under management in 1999. This report from KPMG outlines the main trends.

An overview of South African venture capital and private equity
29/05/2001. Although the South African private equity market has seen significant expansion in recent years, investors are dragging their heels when it comes to investing in seed and start-up ventures. Drawing on a variety of sources, this University of Cape Town report assesses the state of the VC industry in South Africa.