Southern Africa kicked off 2025 as the continent's most active region for private capital, accounting for 37% of Africa’s total private capital transactions in Q1—reclaiming the top spot from East Africa, which led the region in 2024.
This is according to the Stears Q1 2025 Private Capital in Africa Activity Report.
Despite the region's strong performance, South Africa remained the clear anchor for Southern Africa’s capital activity, contributing 77% of the region’s deals. The country also led the continent in single-country deals, accounting for 17% of Africa’s total unique transactions.
Some of the deals included Etana Energy’s $75 million raise, backed by Standard Bank and Norfund, and Vumatel’s acquisition of Herotel Telecoms, a significant move in consolidating South Africa’s fibre infrastructure.
Southern Africa stood out for its dominance in telecommunications, hosting all African telecoms transactions in Q1. The region also saw steady activity in financial services and consumer goods, although the latter underperformed relative to other regions. Consumer goods made up just 18% of Southern African deals, despite being the second most active sector continent-wide.
The broader African market saw a decline in mega deals (> $75 million), with just 5% of Q1 transactions qualifying—down from 27% in Q4 2024. Southern Africa followed suit, participating instead in large-ticket transactions ($25–$75 million). These mid-sized deals offer stability in volatile macro environments and continue to attract development finance institutions (DFIs) like Norfund, which was particularly active in the region.
Although other regions on the continent also made gains, what gives Southern Africa a structural edge is its strong base of domestic institutional capital, particularly pension funds, which are more active in private markets than in East Africa, where local LP participation remains minimal. This domestic capital participation helps stabilize deal pipelines and reduce dependency on foreign funders.