Remarks by AVCA Chief Executive Officer, Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, at the 2021 AVCA Conference
As prepared for delivery on Tuesday 20 April 2021
Welcome to the 17th Annual AVCA Conference, which is also our maiden virtual conference. I am thrilled that you are joining us today as we kick off the AVCA conference week, with a full agenda packed with expert insight, deep-dive Q&As, and interactive panels.
The AVCA conference has always been an important vessel to shine a light on the continent’s promise and potential, de-mystify misconceptions about investable opportunities in Africa, and foster thought-provoking dialogue and connections across the industry.
Over the past two decades, AVCA has convened institutional investors, fund managers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and changemakers in a different African city each year, to connect, engage, and contribute to building a thriving private investment ecosystem in Africa.
Unfortunately, we can’t all be in the same room for the vibrant discussions that are characteristic of AVCA’s conferences, but I am glad that we are able to connect with one another because of technology, which happens to be one of the top sectors driving the continent’s growth.
Resilience, Resurgence and Results
While planning this conference, we spent some time thinking about the theme for this year.
For us, it was important to look not only at the past 12 months, which were challenging for everyone in many respects but to also reflect on what the future holds for the industry and continent post-Covid.
As many countries start to emerge from long periods of lockdown and supply chain interruptions, what would the private investment landscape look like, where would we see growth and opportunity?
These were some of the questions we considered. We arrived at the words “resilience”, “resurgence” and “results” because they summarise the vital role that the private sector has played in pushing Africa’s economy forward, and they give us hope for the future as fund managers continue to create value and deliver stronger results.
Despite the uncertainty and volatility of the past year, LPs and GPs worked together to protect their portfolio companies by providing them with the support they needed to overcome financial and operational challenges.
Last month, we published the 2020 Annual Private Equity Data Tracker, which revealed that there was a total of 255 reported deals to the value of US$3.3 billion in 2020.
While fundraising dropped in 2020 from US$3.9bn in 2019, it is remarkable that African GPs raised US$1.2bn in what was a difficult fundraising environment. For us, this demonstrates investors’ commitment to the long-term opportunities arising from the continent.
This year, the conference is more than a celebration of AVCA’s 20th anniversary. It is also a celebration of innovation, leadership, agility and collaboration across the industry.
Over the next two days, we will hear from entrepreneurs who have developed groundbreaking solutions in healthcare, agriculture, and financial services, to name a few. We will hear from the policymakers who are creating the environment for greater capital flow into the continent. We will also hear from the industry pioneers who continue to believe in Africa’s growth story and shape the continent’s future.
We know that Africa is ripe with possibility, and we are delighted to be able to play our part in showcasing these opportunities to the global investment community.
Thank you for joining us.
