After fruitful meetings in Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town and Lagos, the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) held its annual meeting in Marrakech on April 23 and 24, 2018, in the wake of the return of Morocco in the African Union.
The ocher city has served as an ideal venue to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the private equity association conference. This historic occasion, which marks the return of the conference in North Africa for the first time in almost 10 years, brought together more than 600 leaders in the private equity industry, uniting opinion leaders, investors and advisors who manage more than US $ 1,300 billion in assets.
In the margins of the meeting, the AVCA published a report on the evolution of responsible investment in Africa. The paper explores how African fund managers invest in delivering development results that encompass financial performance as well as economic impact.
Given the rise of responsible investment approaches, we must highlight the important role of the development finance community in establishing the private equity industry in Africa.
Commenting on the report, Enitan Obasanjo-Adeleye, Director, Head of Research, AVCA notes that: “Responsible investing, sustainable investing and the implementation of ESG are strategies that have long been used by the private equity industry in Africa. This is not a flash of fire and in retracing the evolution until today, the purpose of the AVCA is to promote a better understanding and a better adoption of these practices by experts and newcomers. ”
Runa Alam, Chair of the AVCA Sustainability Committee adds, “It is important to highlight the contribution of industry to sustainable development on the continent. The investment ecosystem must continue to take responsibility for economic growth in Africa, while recognizing that responsible investment is a key pillar of value creation. ”
Over the past two decades, they have helped define an industry for which the environment, social and governance are a vital part of creating value. The AVCA presents this evolution, which is supported by the 2017 sustainability study of the association, which found that almost 70% of private equity-financed companies had ESG criteria in their investment process.
An unprecedented story: The evolution of responsible investment in Africa focuses on how private equity strengthens the private sector through sustainable investment and is part of the exploration of the topic by AVCA, which also includes the annual study on sustainability in Africa. This research provides information on an important theme that is influencing the investment ecosystem in Africa and follows the recent special macroeconomic report that examines how African fund managers can seize opportunities in a context of increasing currency risk. and political risk.
