In an era marked by global uncertainty, Kuramo Capital’s grounded, values-driven approach offers a compelling blueprint for resilient, African-led development.

In this interview with BusinessDay, , CEO and founder of Kuramo Capital insights underscores not only Kuramo’s pioneering role in shaping African private capital but also a broader narrative, one of redefining investment, impact, and opportunity on the continent. brings excerpts:

I’m African, Nigerian. I grew up in Nigeria, went to Abubi College before moving to the U.S., where my career in finance evolved. The pivotal moment came while working at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago. Beyond investing the foundation’s assets, I discovered they had an office in Nigeria. The foundation’s mission to do good globally planted the seed for what we’re now doing at Kuramo, investing while creating real impact.

At Kuramo, we believe Africa represents one of the last frontiers of real growth. But early on, we observed that many of the private equity players weren’t indigenous or even based on the continent. They were investing from afar, often from the U.S. or U.K., and weren’t backing small and medium enterprises or focused on real value creation. That’s where we stepped in.

The gaps were glaring, a lack of indigenous fund managers, minimal focus on SMEs, and virtually no one anchoring first-time funds. We saw an opportunity to build capacity by identifying talented young Africans with integrity and networks who could spot and grow promising businesses.

To date, we’ve anchored 15 first-time funds, almost all the private equity funds in Nigeria. We’re proud to be the pioneering fund-of-funds on the continent, raising around $800 million, and catalysing about $3.5 billion into Africa as anchor investors. Alongside that, we’ve made 20 direct investments across critical sectors—financial inclusion, infrastructure, healthcare, energy, and technology.

Transformation in the DRC, or anywhere in Africa, requires a shared vision of prosperity between businesses and local communities. In DRC, everyone focuses on mining, but our entry point was agribusiness. When we took over the business, it was loss-making. We turned it around by focusing on productivity, empowering Congolese leadership, and committing to shared value.

We invested heavily in community infrastructure, hospitals, schools, roads, employee housing—and increased the workforce to over 10,000 people, tripling the number of women employed. Our value creation came through operational excellence and social investment. It’s now the largest agribusiness in Congo, and a model for what private capital can do.

Absolutely. We’re looking to scale within agribusiness, exploring new crops and processing value chains. But beyond agriculture, I see major potential in technology. I’ve witnessed firsthand the returns from tech through my previous role as Chief Investment Officer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where venture capital drove significant returns.

The DRC’s informal economy and disposable income are underestimated. Kinshasa is Africa’s third-largest city, with vibrant demand for goods and services. Our goal is to replicate our agribusiness success in tech and other value-added sectors.

In Nigeria, we anchored the first tech fund in 2014, bringing a Silicon Valley investor back home. A similar approach could work in DRC, launching incubators and tech funds to capture local innovation.

People often underestimate Nigeria. I argue that Nigeria’s GDP should be $1.5 trillion, not the outdated official figure. Why? Because we’re not capturing real economic activity. Our GDP hasn’t been rebased since 2014, despite massive transformation.

Look at what’s happened: explosive growth in private equity, technology, fintech, creative industries, and pensions. Kuramo alone has backed 250 companies across our fund and direct portfolio. For instance, our fintech investments—Paystack, Flutterwave—became unicorns in years, not decades.

The pension industry has grown from ₦5 trillion to ₦23 trillion, fueling capital markets. Afrobeats and Nollywood are reshaping global perceptions, attracting investment. Even amid inflation, our portfolio companies report record revenues. Nigeria’s informal economy and entrepreneurial spirit are its untapped engines.

Our investee companies are posting record revenues despite macro headwinds. How? Because disposable income is higher than what official data reflects.

We also see significant informal remittances and diaspora investments. And fintech has revolutionised financial services. Nigeria leapfrogged even Kenya’s Mpesa. We’re seeing digital payments, startup unicorns, thriving creative industries like Afrobeats and Nollywood, all these point to an economy brimming with untapped value.

ESG is embedded in our DNA. From our DRC agribusiness turnaround to healthcare investments in Nigeria, we always look at how to create shared value, environmentally, socially, and in governance. Our “cradle-to-grave” approach in DRC, supporting communities from birth (healthcare) to livelihoods (education, jobs), is a prime example.

We’re also leaders in gender lens investing. Initially, only one of our first 15 anchored funds was led by a woman. That wasn’t acceptable. So we launched an accelerator for women fund managers. Over 40 women have gone through it. We’re now supporting women-led funds across Africa with capital, operations, compliance, and impact reporting.

By demonstrating success. Our track record—like the DRC agribusiness turnaround—shows that local expertise mitigates risks. We also educate investors on Africa’s dynamism, like Nigeria’s fintech leapfrogging M-Pesa. Perception is shifting; Afrobeats and Nollywood have softened risk biases, making global capital more receptive.

We also educate investors with data and storytelling. We’ve taken our clients to Nigeria, showed them investee companies, and helped them see beyond the headlines. Investors follow results, and when they see our funds performing and impact being created, the trust builds.

It’s a challenging macro environment, no doubt. But that creates relative value for African markets. Investors looking for yield are taking a second look at frontier markets. The opportunity is to structure capital efficiently, manage risk well, and build capacity.

We’ve also seen governments recognize that fund-of-funds models, like ours, are powerful tools for job creation and SME development. Countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Ghana are now adopting these structures, and Kuramo has been selected to manage some of these vehicles. The future lies in wholesale capital, local talent, and scalable models.

Energy access is foundational. We’re seeing progress, like some utilities improving service for industrial clients, but much remains to be done. The long-term solution is decentralised, renewable, and private-sector-led.

We’re exploring models around solar mini-grids, embedded power for industrial zones, and energy-as-a-service solutions. Nigeria’s energy deficit is also an investment opportunity, especially as manufacturers seek reliable power and cost-effective alternatives to diesel.

The long-term vision is to be a catalyst for Africa’s transformation. That means building institutional-quality capital platforms that are African-led and globally connected. We’ll continue to support fund managers, invest directly, and scale impact.

We’re also expanding our approach into new asset classes, including infrastructure and venture capital, and developing wholesale impact funds in partnership with governments and DFIs. As for geography, our core remains Sub-Saharan Africa, but we’re open to opportunities in adjacent regions that align with our mission.

The goal is to create sustainable wealth, not just financial returns, but inclusive, long-lasting value for Africans by Africans. That’s what Kuramo stands for.