We provide lender-ready capital raise packaging and debt or equity placement support for business owners and buyers looking to secure serious term sheets and close funding on a defined timeline.
For business owners and acquirers pursuing private debt or equity, submit your deal for review. We revert within one working day with next steps and either a quote for our services.
For pre-submission discussions, we offer paid consultations. To initiate underwriting and lender outreach, submit the deal.
Private Credit And Africa Funding
Searching for “private credit funds investing in Africa” usually means one thing: you need real debt capital, on a real timeline, with terms that make sense for your cash flows and your jurisdiction.
This page is built for borrowers, sponsors, and CFOs looking for an Africa private credit fund, an African private debt fund, or a mezzanine debt fund in Africa that can write checks for growth, acquisitions, infrastructure, renewable energy, trade finance, or regulated financial institutions serving MSMEs.
We also explain what these lenders actually underwrite, what a lender-ready package looks like, and how Financely supports borrowers with underwriting, structuring, and introductions through our capital partner network.
Private credit is non-bank lending provided by specialist funds or credit-oriented asset managers. In Africa, private credit often fills the gap where traditional banks face tenor limits, sector limits, FX constraints, or strict collateral rules. The result is a market where “Africa private credit” can include senior secured loans, unitranche, mezzanine, structured credit, and long-tenor infrastructure debt, often paired with tighter controls and deeper reporting than a typical local-bank facility.
Two phrases matter because they show up in credit committee conversations. “Downside protection” means the lender designs the structure so recoveries stay credible even if the base case slips. “Control” means cash, contracts, and security are set up so the lender is not relying on goodwill when things get noisy. If your deal narrative cannot translate into control mechanics, most private credit lenders will pass, even if the story is strong.
Quick translation for borrowers: private credit funds do not fund ambition. They fund documented cash flows, enforceable security, and monitored execution. If your documents cannot support that, you will see “interest” but not a term sheet.
“Top 10” lists are only useful if you match the lender to the transaction type. An infrastructure debt fund in Africa is not built for a working capital facility. A mezzanine lender in Sub-Saharan Africa is rarely the right match for early-stage development risk. A fund that refinances microfinance institutions will not underwrite a sponsor-led acquisition of a manufacturing platform. The point is fit.
Use the profiles below to shortlist by deal type, sector focus, and typical instrument, then build your outreach around a lender-ready underwriting pack. If you want to see Financely’s intake and process steps, start with How It Works and our Standard Operating Procedure.
The list includes Africa-focused private credit fund managers and dedicated lending vehicles that repeatedly deploy debt capital in African markets. In a few cases, the “fund” is best described as a platform with multiple vehicles, because that is how borrowers encounter it in the market.
| Fund or Manager | Where They Typically Deploy | What They Are Known For | Sector Focus and Typical Deal Fit | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLG Capital Sub-Saharan Africa private credit | Sub-Saharan Africa, often via bank partnerships | Private credit for SMEs, structured solutions, capital relief concepts | SME growth, bank-referred borrowers, structured credit outcomes | tlgcapital.com |
| Vantage Capital Mezzanine lender Africa | Multiple African countries | Mezzanine finance track record across successive funds | Growth, acquisitions, refinancings with strong cash flow logic | vantagecapital.co.za |
| BluePeak Private Capital Structured private capital | Africa with multi-office presence | Flexible financing solutions and multi-sector approach | Mid-market financing across sectors, structured instruments | bluepeakpc.com |
| Ethos Mezzanine Partners East and Southern Africa | East and Southern Africa | Mezzanine growth, acquisition, replacement capital | Mid-market companies needing growth or acquisition mezzanine | ethoscapital.mu |
| Tamela Capital Partners Credit-oriented Africa | Primarily Southern Africa | Mezzanine debt focus and credit-oriented asset management | Growth capital, expansion finance, mezzanine debt structures | tamela.co.za |
| Norsad Capital Impact private debt | Sub-Saharan Africa | Tailor-made debt finance solutions for growth companies | Mid-market growth lending with impact overlays | norsadcapital.com |
| XSML Capital Frontier market SME lending | Central and Eastern Africa | SME finance in frontier markets via African Rivers funds | SME loans for growth, resilient business models in underserved markets | xsmlcapital.com |
| Lendable Debt platform for alternative lenders | Africa-linked lending ecosystems | Debt platform backing non-bank and alternative lenders | Fintech and alternative lender financing, including PAYGo ecosystems | lendable.io |
| REGMIFA MSME finance via FIs | Sub-Saharan Africa | Private debt fund refinancing FIs serving MSMEs | Regulated and non-regulated FIs with MSME and LMIH exposure | regmifa.com |
| EAAIF Africa infrastructure debt | Africa and parts of Asia | Long-term commercial debt for inclusive infrastructure | Infrastructure projects: energy, transport, digital, utilities | eaif.com |
Below are the same ten names, explained the way borrowers actually need them explained: what they tend to fund, why they say yes, why they say no, and what your package must demonstrate. These are long-tail realities like “mezzanine debt lenders in Sub-Saharan Africa” and “Africa infrastructure debt fund for renewable energy” because that is how the search intent shows up in the market.
TLG Capital is widely associated with Sub-Saharan Africa private credit strategies that target SMEs and structured solutions. For borrowers, the key point is their focus on lending structures that can work alongside the local banking system. That matters because many African banks have strong client reach but limited flexibility on tenor, concentration, and risk appetite. Private credit can step in when the borrower is viable, but the bank cannot hold the exposure the way the borrower needs.
Sector focus:
SME growth, structured credit solutions, bank-referred borrower segments.
Best fit keywords:
Sub-Saharan Africa private credit fund for SMEs, Africa growth debt fund, structured private credit for mid-market Africa.
External:
tlgcapital.com
Vantage Capital is a recognizable name in mezzanine finance in Africa. “Mezzanine” is important because it sits between senior debt and equity. It is often used when the sponsor wants to reduce equity dilution but the deal cannot support more senior leverage without breaking covenants. Mezzanine is priced higher than senior debt because it carries more risk and often relies on stronger sponsor behavior and tighter governance protections.
Sector focus:
growth, acquisitions, refinancings where cash flow can service a layered structure.
Best fit keywords:
mezzanine debt fund Africa, Africa growth mezzanine lender, acquisition mezzanine Sub-Saharan Africa.
External:
vantagecapital.co.za
BluePeak Private Capital positions itself around flexible financing solutions, which is shorthand for not being locked into a single instrument type. That flexibility can be useful when your deal needs a tailored combination of senior-like features and equity-like features, for example a structured instrument with covenants, security, and downside protections, plus performance-linked economics. Borrowers should still treat the process as credit underwriting: the fund will want evidence, controls, and an enforceable recovery path.
Sector focus:
multi-sector mid-market, structured private capital, bespoke instruments.
Best fit keywords:
Africa private capital fund structured debt, private credit fund Africa mid-market, structured credit Africa growth companies.
External:
bluepeakpc.com
Ethos Mezzanine Partners is a well-known mezzanine platform in East and Southern Africa. The word “replacement capital” shows up in mezzanine strategies because mezzanine can refinance shareholder loans, restructure legacy capital stacks, or fund expansions without forcing an immediate equity raise. For borrowers, the real point is that mezzanine underwriting depends heavily on visibility of cash generation and discipline on distributions. If the business throws off cash but governance is weak, mezzanine lenders will typically demand stronger controls.
Sector focus:
mezzanine financing for mid-market growth and acquisitions in East and Southern Africa.
Best fit keywords:
mezzanine fund East Africa, mezzanine debt Southern Africa, acquisition mezzanine lender Africa.
External:
ethoscapital.mu
Tamela Capital Partners is credit-oriented and often associated with mezzanine debt strategies. “Credit-oriented” matters because it signals a lender mindset: repayment source, covenant discipline, and enforceable downside protection. Mezzanine debt is rarely a quick fix for weak fundamentals. It is a tool for businesses that are already viable but need expansion capital, acquisition financing, or balance sheet restructuring that senior lenders will not stretch to support.
Sector focus:
mezzanine debt across Sub-Saharan Africa with strong Southern Africa footprint.
Best fit keywords:
mezzanine debt fund South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa mezzanine lender, growth capital mezzanine Africa.
External:
tamela.co.za
Norsad Capital is frequently described as an impact investor providing tailor-made debt solutions to profitable companies in Africa. “Tailor-made” is not marketing fluff in credit markets. It usually means the lender is willing to design covenants and structures around the borrower’s real cash conversion cycle, seasonality, and FX exposures, as long as the borrower can provide visibility and reporting. The trade-off is always control: flexibility in structure tends to come with stronger monitoring and clearer triggers.
Sector focus:
private debt and mezzanine finance for mid-market growth companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Best fit keywords:
impact private credit Africa, mid-market debt fund Sub-Saharan Africa, tailored growth debt Africa.
External:
norsadcapital.com
XSML Capital is known for financing SMEs in frontier markets in Africa, including Central and Eastern Africa, and it operates through its African Rivers fund series. “Frontier” is an underwriting flag because it increases legal, FX, and execution risks. That is why SME private debt in frontier markets often comes with stronger hands-on monitoring and a real operational view of the business. For borrowers, this means your reporting quality and governance discipline can matter almost as much as your headline profitability.
Sector focus:
SME lending in underserved markets, often with country clusters like DRC, Uganda, Angola, Zambia.
Best fit keywords:
SME private debt fund Africa, frontier market private credit Africa, Central Africa SME lender.
External:
xsmlcapital.com
Lendable, in its Africa-focused debt platform context, is often discussed as a lender to alternative lenders and fintech ecosystems. That distinction matters: the borrower might be a lending platform, a non-bank financial institution, or a specialist lender serving microfinance, PAYGo energy, or other embedded finance channels. If your business model is “lending to end users,” the core underwriting question becomes asset quality, underwriting discipline, collections infrastructure, and portfolio performance under stress.
Sector focus:
fintech and alternative lender financing, debt platform structures, impact credit channels.
Best fit keywords:
debt fund for African fintech lenders, financing for non-bank lenders Africa, PAYGo energy lender platform debt.
External:
lendable.io
REGMIFA is a private debt fund that focuses on refinancing financial institutions that serve MSMEs and low to middle income households. “Refinancing” is a technical word that matters because it implies the fund is not guessing about end-borrower demand. It is providing liquidity and term funding to institutions already deploying credit locally. For borrowers, the eligibility is not about a single corporate project. It is about institutional governance, portfolio quality, risk controls, and alignment with the fund’s mandate.
Sector focus:
refinancing regulated and non-regulated FIs serving MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Best fit keywords:
MSME private debt fund Africa, microfinance refinancing fund Sub-Saharan Africa, funding for local banks serving SMEs.
External:
regmifa.com
EAAIF is an infrastructure debt vehicle that provides long-term commercial debt for infrastructure projects. “Long-term” is the key differentiator, because many local banks cannot hold long tenor infrastructure exposures without balance sheet and regulatory pressure. If you are raising debt for power, transmission, transport, logistics, water, or digital infrastructure, you need a lender that is comfortable underwriting project-level risks, contracts, and security packages, not just corporate balance sheets.
Sector focus:
infrastructure debt, inclusive infrastructure projects, long-tenor commercial lending.
Best fit keywords:
Africa infrastructure debt fund, project finance debt Africa, long tenor infrastructure lender Africa renewable energy.
External:
eaif.com
Borrowers often ask for “a private credit fund in Africa” as if it is a single product. It is not. Every serious lender is underwriting three things at the same time: repayment source, enforceability, and control. Repayment source is the cash that services the debt, which can be operating cash flow, contracted revenues, portfolio collections, or a defined cash waterfall from project accounts. Enforceability is whether the legal structure, security, and jurisdictions support a credible recovery path. Control is whether the lender can monitor and intervene early enough to avoid value destruction.
This is why a lender-ready package is not a pitch deck. A pitch deck sells. A credit package proves. If you want to see how Financely frames packaging across mandates, start with What We Do and the platform flow via How It Works.
If you want to reduce time to term sheet, your submission needs to answer the questions lenders ask before they ask them. That is not about writing longer paragraphs. It is about mapping evidence to risks. A lender does not need your optimism. A lender needs your controls.
Define the repayment source in one sentence, then prove it with numbers. For an operating business, that is cash flow and working capital behavior. For a project, that is contracted revenues and cash waterfall logic. For a lender platform, that is portfolio performance and collections. Explain what changes if revenue slips 10% and why the debt still survives. That is what “downside case” means in credit.
Security is only as strong as its enforceability. That includes security perfection steps, bank account controls, assignment of key contracts, and jurisdiction-specific realities. If your structure needs an all-asset lien concept or broad collateral coverage, see All-Asset Lien Packages for the control logic lenders look for.
Governance is not a formality. It is how lenders protect value. Expect requirements around board oversight, audited financials, monthly reporting packs, covenant compliance certificates, and early warning triggers. If your business cannot support that discipline, private credit is the wrong market, or it will be priced as high-risk.
Most cross-border lenders will not compromise on KYC and AML. If counterparties are involved, you need to show who they are, how funds move, and how contracts allocate risk. In trade-linked mandates, this connects to structured trade finance controls. If you are operating in that space, see Trade Finance Structuring And Deal Underwriting for what lenders expect.
Here is the blunt truth: most private credit rejections happen because the borrower cannot translate the business into a controlled repayment story. The model may look fine, but the controls are vague. Or the controls exist, but they are not enforceable. Or the enforceability is fine, but the cash conversion is fragile and the sponsor wants aggressive leverage anyway.
Financely operates as a transaction-led capital advisory desk. Our role is to convert your financing need into a lender-ready package and route it to matching capital providers, including private credit funds, banks, and specialist lenders. This is not a directory service. It is an underwriting and placement process designed to produce real term sheets or written declines, with a controlled workflow and a defined scope.
If you want to see how we run mandates from intake to outreach, review Standard Operating Procedure , then submit through Submit Your Deal. For additional context on our platform and deliverables, see How Our Platform Works and Project Finance.
If you have a defined funding use case, timeline, and documents, submit your deal. We will assess fit, build the lender-ready package, and route it to matching private credit and bank capital providers.
Submit Your DealThese are the questions borrowers ask right after they search “top private credit funds investing in Africa” and realize a list is not enough. The answers below are written to reflect how lenders actually think, including why some deals stall even when the economics look attractive.
Banks typically price cheaper when they can lend, but they often face limits on tenor, sector exposure, FX risk, and single obligor concentration. Private credit funds are built to underwrite non-standard risk within a controlled structure, which can include longer tenor, customized covenants, and layered capital. The trade-off is pricing and control. Private credit is rarely the cheapest capital. It is often the capital that is available when the structure is well-defined and the borrower can support reporting and governance.
Mezzanine debt is a subordinated instrument that sits between senior debt and equity. It can include second lien loans, preferred equity-like instruments, or convertible-style economics depending on the jurisdiction and the deal. It makes sense when the business has stable cash generation but needs more capital than senior lenders will provide, or when the sponsor wants to reduce equity dilution. In practical terms, mezzanine lenders focus on downside protection, sponsor alignment, and governance controls because they are taking more risk than senior lenders.
Yes, but the underwriting is project finance underwriting, not corporate storytelling. Lenders want contracted revenues, bankable EPC and O&M terms, insurance, account control, and a credible condition precedent path to first draw. Infrastructure debt funds focus heavily on enforceability and cash waterfall mechanics because the lender’s repayment is tied to project accounts and contracts. If your project is still at early development stage with permits and land unresolved, most private credit lenders will not treat it as debt-ready.
At minimum: corporate structure chart, ownership and governance, last 3 years financials and management accounts, 12 to 24 month forecast with assumptions, bank statements where relevant, key contracts, customer and supplier concentration, capex plan, security available, and a clear use of proceeds. If the deal is asset-backed, add valuation support, title evidence, and control mechanics. If the deal is project-based, add permits, land rights, concession or offtake, EPC terms, and an initial model. The goal is simple: reduce lender questions by answering the credit committee’s decision logic upfront.
Because repayment is a process, not a promise. Account control means the lender has visibility and rights around the bank accounts where revenues land. A cash waterfall is the priority order for where money goes, typically operating costs first, then taxes, then debt service, then reserves, then distributions. These controls reduce default risk by preventing cash leakage and ensuring the debt service path is protected. When lenders say “controls,” this is what they mean.
No. Funds decide independently and mandates are executed on a best-efforts basis. What we can do is build the lender-ready package, structure the deal to match lender preferences, and run disciplined outreach to matching capital providers. The real value is not sending your deck to ten inboxes. The value is presenting a controlled, financeable story that lenders can underwrite quickly, and pushing the process through term sheet, diligence, and closing steps with fewer avoidable delays.
If you want private credit in Africa, the fastest path is a lender-ready file that proves repayment source, enforceability, and control. Anything else is noise.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
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All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
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