Africa's largest homegrown private equity firm - $3.6B+ AUM
Helios Investment Partners is one of Africa's largest private equity firms, having deployed about US$3.6B in African businesses. Backs large, growth-stage African businesses across financial services, telecoms, energy, and consumer goods. Portfolio includes Vivo Energy, Helios Towers, and Equity Bank. Writes equity cheques of US$30M to US$200M per transaction at growth and buyout stages.
Use when
You've built a large, revenue-generating African business and are seeking institutional private equity for a major growth or buyout transaction.
Skip when
You are a startup. A US$30 million minimum is two orders of magnitude above a Series A; this is listed for context on who eventually buys African businesses, not as somewhere to pitch.
Status (24 Sep 2026): a London-headquartered pan-African private equity firm that has deployed about US$3.6 billion in African businesses. Helios Investors IV targeted US$1.25 billion, writing equity cheques of US$30 million to US$200 million per transaction for significant minority or control positions in mid to large-cap platform companies. Known in tech circles as a long-standing Interswitch shareholder rather than as a startup investor.
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