Report Summary, November 2024

This report summary outlines the potential of investment vehicle domiciliation in African jurisdictions to mobilize and diversify investment capital for growth-oriented MSMEs. It presents the findings of a study commissioned by the Mastercard Foundation and conducted by Momentus Global, Stafford Law, and Samawati Capital in response to an observed gap in domiciliation that limits the availability of capital for MSMEs that could drive economic growth and opportunity across Africa.

The Africa Growth Fund, led by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)2, was established in 2022 to prioritize African Investment Vehicles and catalyze African-based investment capital with a gender lens. The search for African-based investment vehicles (IVs) to serve as partners to the Fund revealed the scarcity of African-domiciled investment vehicles – and ignited efforts to encourage and increase the diversity of investment vehicles on the African continent. The hypothesis behind the study is that increased domiciliation will attract more international capital to the African continent and catalyze local capital mobilization, which will grow the investment ecosystem in Africa, promoting economic growth and transformation and bolstering dignified work opportunities for young people who comprise 70% of the population in the continent.

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