Has the "Africa rising" story become the "Africa stumbling along" story? This is one of the questions posed after a spate of top-level management departures from African private equity firms. The biggest news was the August departure of Marlon Chigwende, MD and co-head of the sub-Saharan Africa buyout advisory team of the world’s second-largest private equity firm, Carlyle. He had headed the US firm’s African division since it entered the continent in April 2014 after an initial fund raising of US$698m. Also making waves was a Reuters report that said Standard Chartered was "parting ways" with its Africa head, Peter Baird, as part of a plan to cut its Africa team from 11 to five members. Local private equity players read nothing into these two departures. "It’s just a coincidence," says William Alexander, Investec Asset Management’s Africa private equity investment principal.
Says EY Africa private equity leader Graham Stokoe: "There’s nothing substantial in it." Indeed, Niger...
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