PEA 2026 AWARDS WINNERS

LP AWARDS

Individual Awards

LP Leadership Award

  • Nick Vickery, Global Head, Private Equity Funds, International Finance Corporation (IFC).
  • John Owers, Director and Head of Funds Solutions, British International Investment (BII).

LP Special Presentation

LP Special Presentation Plaque

  • British International Investment (BII)

Collected by Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer, Equity & Funds, BII. The award was presented by Babatunde Soyoye, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Helios Investment Partners.

Previous year Thank You Award – plaque presented in 2026.

LP Annual Awards

LP of the Year

  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Collected by Nick Vickery, Global Head, Private Equity Funds, IFC, and Shruti Chandrasekhar, Head of Funds, IFC. The award was presented by Isha Doshi, Co-Founder, Partner and CFO, TLG Capital.

LP Funds Impact Award

  • British International Investment (BII)

Collected by Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer, Equity & Funds, BII. The award was presented by Jean-Marc Savi de Tové, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Adiwalé Partners.

LP Regional Award – North Africa

  • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Collected by Andrew Hoyle, Principal, Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds, EBRD. The award was presented by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners.

LP Specialist Award – Secondaries

  • Sango Capital

Collected by Christian Roelofse, Director, Investments, Sango Capital. The award was presented by Arjette van den Berg, Senior Advisor, AFIG Funds.

LP Catalyst Investor

  • Mastercard Foundation

Collected by Aliya Farah Shariff, Senior Director, Africa Catalytic Investment Facility (ACIF), Mastercard Foundation. The award was presented by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management.

LP Anchor Investor

  • European Investment Bank (EIB)

Collected by Pascal Simon, Senior Investment Officer, Infrastructure Funds and Climate Action, EIB, and Marius Chirila, Head of Institutional and Strategic Funds, EIB. The award was presented by Kem Ihenacho, Partner, Latham & Watkins.

LP Decade Awards

LP Decade Fund Commitments

  • DEG

Collected by Philipp Hein, Director and Head, Private Equity Africa and Global Climate Investments, DEG. The award was presented by Nigel Wellings, Partner, Clifford Chance.

LP Decade Catalytic Investor

  • FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi)

Collected by Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSDAi. The award was presented by Vishaal Narendra Shah, Director, AKVISH Century.

LP Strategy Awards

LP Co-investment Deal

  • British International Investment (BII) for Miro Forestry

Collected by Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer, Equity & Funds, BII, together with the BII team.

LP Local Capital Catalyser

  • British International Investment (BII) for Growth Investment Partners (GIP)

Collected by Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer, Equity & Funds, BII, together with the BII team.

LP Capital Mobilisation

  • DEG for Afrigrow

Collected by Philipp Hein, Director and Head, Private Equity Africa and Global Climate Investments, DEG.

GP AWARDS

Individual  Awards

GP Leadership Awards

  • Titi Sekhukhune, Co-Founder and Partner, Infinite Partners.
  • Olusola Lawson, Co-Managing Director, African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).
  • Herman Marais, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, EXEO Capital.

GP House Awards

Overall Winner

House of the Year

  • Development Partners International (DPI)

Collected by the DPI team on behalf of Runa Alam, Chair, DPI.

Category Winners

Regional Investor – North Africa

  • Mediterrania Capital Partners

Collected by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners.

Credit Investor

  • Cygnum Capital

Collected by Laurène Aigrain, Managing Director, Cygnum Capital, and Meghana Duggirala, Executive Director, Cygnum Capital.

Frontier Investor

  • XSML Capital

GP Strategy Awards

Annual Award

Future Fund Strategies

  • TLG Capital

Collected by Isha Doshi, Co-Founder, Partner and CFO, TLG Capital.

Decade Award

Infrastructure Strategy

  • African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM)

Collected by Paul Frankish, Investment Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives, AIIM.

EMERGING MARKETS AWARDS

Private Equity Africa partnered with the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) to recognise firms that have integrated Africa into their emerging markets strategies. The awards were presented by Cate Ambrose, Chief Executive Officer, GPCA.

GP Awards (EM)

  • Aavishkaar Capital

Collected by Ashish Patel, Managing Partner, Aavishkaar Capital, and Abhishek Mittal, Partner, Credit, Aavishkaar Capital.

  • Amethis

Collected by Jean-Sébastien Bergasse, Senior Partner, Responsible for Investments, Amethis.

  • Development Partners International (DPI)

Collected by the DPI team on behalf of Runa Alam, Chair, DPI.

  • Helios Investment Partners

Collected by Babatunde Soyoye, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Helios Investment Partners.

  • Mediterrania Capital Partners

Collected by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners.

  • Old Mutual Alternative Investments (OMAI)

Collected by Olusola Lawson, Co-Managing Director, African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).

  • Sanlam Alternative Investments

Collected by John Seymour, Private Equity Managing Partner, Sanlam Alternative Investments.

  • TPG Growth

Collected by Othmane Oumrani, Vice President and Director, TPG.

EM Advisor Awards 

  • Clifford Chance

Collected by Nigel Wellings, Partner, Clifford Chance

  • Latham & Watkins

Collected by Kem Ihenacho, Partner, Latham & Watkins.

DEAL OF THE YEAR

Overall Winner

Overall Deal of the Year

  • Mediterrania Capital Partners for Coris

Collected by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners.

Category Winners

Large Cap Deal of the Year

  • Mediterrania Capital Partners for Coris

Collected by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners.

Mid Cap Deal of the Year

  • Infinite Partners for CYNK

Collected by Titi Sekhukhune, Co-Founder and Partner, Infinite Partners.

Small Cap Deal of the Year

  • Aruwa Capital Management for Polysmart

Collected by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management.

Credit Deal of the Year

  • Cygnum Capital for NewGas

Collected by Laurène Aigrain, Managing Director, Cygnum Capital, and Meghana Duggirala, Executive Director, Cygnum Capital.

Special Recognition

  • Helios Investment Partners for Beta 

Collected by Babatunde Soyoye, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Helios Investment Partners, together with the Helios team.

  • Summit Africa for St Mary’s Hospital

Collected by Tomi Amosun, Managing Partner, Summit Africa.

  • Salt Capital for Welwitschia Hospital Group

Collected by Jan Bosch, Managing Partner, Salt Capital, and Keyur Patel, Partner, Salt Capital.

EXIT OF THE YEAR

Overall Winner

Overall Exit of the Year

  • Helios Investment Partners for Axxela

Collected by Babatunde Soyoye, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Helios Investment Partners.

Category Winners

Large Cap Exit of the Year

  • Amethis for Merec

Collected by Jean-Sébastien Bergasse, Senior Partner, Amethis.

Small Cap Exit of the Year

  • Verod Capital Management for Tangerine

Collected by Nieros Oyegun Soerensen, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Verod Capital Management.

PORTFOLIO COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Overall Winner

Overall Portfolio Company of the Year

  • Mediterrania Capital Partners for Cash Plus

Collected by Albert Alsina, Founder and CEO, Mediterrania Capital Partners, together with the Mediterrania Capital Partners team.

Category Winners

Development Impact

  • EXEO Capital for PPHL

Collected by Herman Marais, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, EXEO Capital.

Social Impact

  • Aruwa Capital Management for MDaaS Global

Collected by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management.

Innovation

  • Aruwa Capital Management for MDaaS Global

Collected by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management.

Improvement

  • AFIG Funds for Tecnicil Indústria

Collected by Arjette van den Berg, Senior Advisor, AFIG Funds.

Special Recognition

Agriculture

  • TLG Capital for Kijenge Animal Products

Collected by Isha Doshi, Co-Founder, Partner and CFO, TLG Capital, together with the TLG Capital team.

WOMEN TO WATCH

The Women to Watch recognition celebrates exceptional women shaping Africa’s private equity, venture capital, private credit and advisory industries. The awards were presented by Adiba Ighodaro, Africa Senior Advisor, Global Private Capital Association (GPCA).

  • Angela Simpson, Partner, Bowmans.
  • Ayodele Adeyemi-Faboya, Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo
  • Lydia Shadrach-Razzino, Partner and Head of Corporate M&A, Baker McKenzie.
  • Shamima Mallam-Hassam, Managing Director, Trident Trust Mauritius.
  • Yolande Tabo, Principal, Convergence Partners.

ADVISOR OF THE YEAR

Individual Awards

 Leadership Award

  • Ceaser Siwale, Chief Executive Officer, Pangaea Securities.

Dealmaker Award

  • Daniel Mutisya, Partner and Co-Head of East Africa, Clifford Chance.

Legal Advisors

Overall Winner

Legal Advisor of the Year

  • Clifford Chance

Collected by Nigel Wellings, Partner, Clifford Chance, and Daniel Mutisya, Partner and Co-Head of East Africa, Clifford Chance.

Category Winners

Funds Legal Advisor of the Year

  • Webber Wentzel

Collected by Sally Hutton, Managing Partner, Webber Wentzel

Local Legal Advisor of the Year

  • Banwo & Ighodalo

Collected by Dr Isa Alade, Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo.

Special Recognition: Global Legal Advisor North Africa

  • Baker McKenzie

Collected by Lydia Shadrach-Razzino, Partner and Head of Corporate M&A, Baker McKenzie.

 Fund Administrators

Global Fund Administrator of the Year

  • Trident Trust

Collected by Shamima Mallam-Hassam, Managing Director, Trident Trust Mauritius.

Local Fund Administrator of the Year

  • Intercontinental Trust

Collected by Ben Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Intercontinental Trust.

Single Fund and Deal Advisors

Single Fund Advisor of the Year

  • Webber Wentzel for African Transition Acceleration Fund (ATAF)

Collected by Sally Hutton, Managing Partner, Webber Wentzel.

Single Deal Legal Advisor of the Year

  • Clifford Chance for Honoris

Collected by Nigel Wellings, Partner, Clifford Chance, and Daniel Mutisya, Partner and Co-Head of East Africa, Clifford Chance.

Special Recognition:  Single Deal Financial Advisor

  • Africa Merchant Capital for Miro Forestry

Collected by Cobus Visagie, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Africa Merchant Capital.