There have been some spectacular failures in African private equity.

Large funds entered the market at the peak of the Africa economic hype narrative in 2014, and then crashed out.

Global players KKR and BlackRock came, put a toe in the water... and then left. New entrants like Abraaj who dreamt big exploded.

So does this clear the way for a different kind of private equity player in Africa? For smaller funds not looking for the big $200m deal: more specialised, more focused?

Ziad Oueslati, Managing Director and co-founder of AfricInvest – a veteran private equity investor – certainly thinks so.

His pioneering funds have invested in 150 companies, has exited from nearly 90.

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