ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the nature and practice of private funds investing in African agriculture. It finds that there are increasing numbers of private investors looking to Africa to fund and develop agricultural initiatives. A growing number of these investments are being made through private equity funds. However, many of these firms are relatively new and at the earliest phases of deploying capital. Fewer than a dozen agriculture-focused private equity funds are currently at the stage of deploying capital into direct investments in African agriculture, though a growing number of investment managers have been marketing their fund propositions. The relatively small number of private equity funds currently operating in the African agriculture market presents a unique opportunity for development agencies to engage with emerging funds and influence the evolution of their business practices.
