Theodore Sutherland

There have been several iterations of how to adapt the traditional PE fund for Africa's unique challenges. These include permanent capital vehicles, de novo funds and sovereign wealth funds. Are these iterations performing any better? What are the lessons for traditional PE from these experiments? What other iterations are LPs like DFIs willing to invest in next?

Africa's historical yields will no longer be competitive in many crops resulting in high importation bills governments can't afford, increased food inflation, and exacerbated poverty and food insecurity. One root issue in many cases is the inefficiencies inherent in small scale farming. Climate change will further compound these production risks. How are African food and agribusinesses preparing to remain globally competitive? How are firms successfully serving domestic markets in light of increasing currency risk and opportunity cost of focusing on exports?

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