…The global gathering addressed the need to revitalise the region’s private investment climate
WED OCT 22 2025-theGBJournal| AVCA, the African Private Capital Association – held its fourth Sustainable Investing in Africa Summit (SIAS) last week, bringing together global LPs, GPs, development finance institutions (DFIs), and entrepreneurs committed to mobilising sustainable finance to fuel Africa’s growth agenda.
The global gathering addressed the need to revitalise the region’s private investment climate as shifting political and economic headwinds place development capital under threat.
Public, private and philanthropic partners in Africa outlined the transformative potential of systematic cooperation, financial innovation, and policy reform to ensure that sustainability remains at the heart of Africa’s financial landscape.
Opening the summit, The Capital Imperative: Turning Intent to Action, Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AVCA, highlighted that the future of investing in Africa has the potential to underpin competitiveness and influence the transformation of the global financial system:
“For me, the case is clear: sustainable investing in Africa is not charity, it’s smart economics. We, at AVCA, remain committed to advancing this agenda, showcasing real case studies and positioning the commercial and social return opportunities of investing on the continent. Throughout today’s summit, you’ll hear from investors and entrepreneurs who are doing exactly that”.
Speakers on the Global Geopolitics and Shifting Capital Flows panel celebrated sustainability as a driver of returns and enabler of resilience against shocks.
Hichem Omezzine, Business Unit Partner at Rise, and Philipp Hein, Head of Private Equity Africa and Global Climate Investments at DEG, underscored that “As global investors are becoming more selective, this is reinforcing the sustainability trend rather than weakening it.”
Panellists recognised that in a more risk-sensitive environment, investors are concentrating capital in well-governed, impact-led businesses with long-term demand curves that are less susceptible to short-term volatility.
Karima Ola, Partner, LeapFrog Investments, underlined that Africa’s demographic dividend continues to anchor the investment case for years to come, confirming that “Africa is the future of the demand curve.
If investors are not allocating to Africa, they are basically missing the future demand of the globe”. With one in four global citizens projected to be African by 2050, the region represents the future of opportunity and the investment case for years to come.
Dr. Jyoti Jeetun, The Honourable Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning, The Republic of Mauritius, said: ”Africa is the land of unrivalled opportunities reshaping the business landscape. We must change the perception of a high-risk profile by highlighting growing macroeconomic stability, resilience and risk-management tools.”
Industry experts on the Built for Africa: AI & Advanced Technology Driving Development panel explored the pioneering role of artificial intelligence (AI), uncovering solutions to drive sustainable growth in Africa and beyond.
Speakers charted its transformative function in healthcare, energy, and operational efficiency, as well as data-backed decision-making, enabling investors to identify scalable, high-impact opportunities in new geographies.
The challenge ahead lies not in the opportunity but in mitigating risks such as the climate crisis, currency volatility, and fragmented access to de-risking tools.
The session, Blending Ideas, Blending Capital: Rethinking Risk and Return for Sustainable Investment, positioned blended finance as the bridge to de-risk markets and crowd in commercial capital at scale.
Participants called for the shift from bespoke, one-off structures to replicable, standardised models that reduce costs and accelerate investment.
Lisa Pinsley, Fund Head, African Transition Acceleration Fund, African Infrastructure Investment Managers, said that growth could not happen without liberalisation, “creating an enabling environment is urgent, collaboration between regulators, investors, and civil society is key. Policy is the multiplier.”
Chinua Azubike, CEO of InfraCredit Nigeria, shared insights from the firm’s experience using guarantees to unlock domestic institutional investment: “We’ve proven that local pension funds will invest in infrastructure assets when the risk is properly mitigated”.
Speakers, including Charlene Chen, Executive Director, The Ezrah Charitable Trust and Harry Davies, Principal, Ceniarth, outlined the rising role of family offices and philanthropic capital as a critical and flexible source of funding to fill early-stage funding gaps.
Family offices, often less constrained by institutional mandates, are increasingly deploying “impact-first” capital that can absorb higher risk, pioneer new investment models, and catalyse follow-on funding from DFIs and commercial investors.
The final panel, “Turning Intent into Action: Africa’s Sustainable Investment Journey,” underscored how fund managers are moving beyond commitments to measurable action and embedded accountability, integrating sustainability into their core strategies.
Panellists emphasised that positive action must be supported by an enabling environment driven through collaboration among regulators, investors, DFIs and civil society.
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