Q2 2024: Dry Powder Builds
The African growth capital quarter in review — funding flows, instruments, and what it meant for founders and investors, from the Caban research desk.
1. Funds close while deployment waits
Africa-focused venture funds were raising successfully — 2024 would see a record ~$736 million in fund closes — even as deployment stayed cautious. Powder accumulated.
2. The debt toolkit matures
Securitisations and structured facilities for asset-heavy models (solar, devices, mobility) became repeatable products rather than one-off experiments.
3. Exit drought pressure
With IPOs absent for a fifth year, LP patience became the ecosystem's scarcest resource.
Reading this as a founder? The through-line of every quarter since 2022 is that preparation, not timing, decides who raises. See how investors would read your business today. As an investor? Our pipeline is built on exactly these dynamics.