African private equity: a conversation with Stephane Bacquaert

Episode notes

Private equity is a great way of investing in uncertain, high growth environments. Strange then, that the African private equity industry is so small. In fact, Stephane Bacquaert, managing partner of Adenia Capital, argues that the mature Western private capital industry has systematically misunderstood the African opportunity, and its risk profile in particulare. In this Fund Shack podcast with Ross Butler, he talks about managing one of Africa's largest buyout funds, and the value that so many investors are missing out on. Key Highlights: Stephane’s Journey: Transitioned from strategy consulting to private equity in Africa, driven by personal connections and a desire to support African businesses. His initial venture failures led him to focus on supporting management teams through investment. Investment Strategies: Emphasis on control buyouts and majority deals, which provide more influence over business outcomes. Investment decisions are driven by bottom-up analyses, focusing on companies with strong growth potential, robust management teams, and pricing power.

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