Only around 10% of Private Equity (PE) exits in Africa came via IPOs in 2024—undermining stock market development—while trade sales and secondaries continue to dominate. One overlooked barrier to IPOs is internal: most portfolio companies are not structured to become listed entities. Some investors like Mediterrania Capital Partners have however engineered successful IPOs on the Casablanca Stock Exchange by embedding exit-readiness early – through governance upgrades and public-market-aligned reporting. This roundtable gathering investors and regulators explores how to turn IPOs into a credible exit path across African markets.
Key Points:
- What listing-readiness processes – governance, audit, transparency, investor engagement -should PE firms embed from day one?
- How can African exchanges co-develop tailored exit pathways via phased IPOs, mid-cap segments, simplified disclosure regimes?
- What collaborative tools, such as GP–stock exchange dialogues, early listing diagnostics, and capital market alliances, can accelerate IPO adoption?