Africa: Kuramo Investors Move $458m in Africa Assets to Sango Capital

Investors in Kuramo Capital Management moved $458 million in African private-market assets to a continuation vehicle managed by Sango Capital, the investment firm led by former Bridgewater Associates partner Richard Okello.

The assets were transferred from 2 Africa-focused funds that had passed their fund life and a 2019 fund, Kuramo Chief Executive Officer Wale Adeosun said, according to Bloomberg. The investors were mainly US endowments and foundations seeking liquidity after a period of limited distributions.

Sango will now manage the portfolio and seek to support exits, new value creation and returns for the investors. The assets span several African markets and sectors, including financial services, consumer goods, health care, infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, mining, industrial materials and technology.

The deal adds to Sango’s role in African secondaries and continuation vehicles. The firm manages about $1.3 billion in assets and earlier this year completed a multifund continuation vehicle for its first fund. It also closed a $120 million secondary transaction across 4 African funds.

Kuramo has been raising new capital from African pension funds and development finance institutions. The firm recently secured about $500 million for investments across Africa and was appointed to manage Nigeria’s $170.6 million DICE Fund of Funds, which will back venture capital in technology and creative startups.

Key Takeaways

The Kuramo-Sango transaction shows how liquidity pressure in global private markets is reaching African funds. US endowments and foundations have faced slower exits, fewer distributions and portfolio allocation pressure after years of higher interest rates and weaker exit markets. A continuation vehicle lets investors roll assets into a new structure, sell down exposure or give a new manager time to exit holdings. For Africa, the deal has 2 meanings. First, it shows that some older funds still hold assets with value but need more time, capital or focus to realize it. Second, it shows that secondaries are becoming part of the market’s infrastructure. That can help limited partners get liquidity without forcing fire sales and can bring new investors into African private equity at adjusted prices. For fund managers, the message is that fund life, exit planning and reporting matter more now. For companies inside the portfolio, Sango’s task will be to turn delayed exits into cash returns. The deal also points to a shift from raising new blind-pool funds to managing existing portfolios through continuation, secondary and restructuring deals.

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