Dear reader,
RO Correspondent James Mahon recently penned our first RO Long Read series, analyzing the links between Japanese capital and the African startup scene.
This series is taking a physical form, through the RO's first ever event in Nairobi, on May 21st.
You can find more info and apply to attend here. The event is organized and moderated by RO East Africa Ambassador Phylis Atieno.
The event is free but invite-only. Applications will be reviewed and either accepted or kindly denied. RO paid subscribers have priority.
Back to today's article.
Ghana made waves last year by mandating local pension funds to allocate a specific % of their AUM to local private equity, including VC.
In nascent startup ecosystems, getting local LPs to allocate to a still unproven local VC asset class is a known ordeal. Ghana is no exception.
Today's article is an interview with Amma Gyampo, CEO of Ghana’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA).
The GVCA has been one of the driving forces behind this achievement. We spoke about:
- What starting postulate did GVCA use to get the conversation started?
- What pushback did they face from local pension funds?
- What fund structures have proved effective in assuaging pension funds' worries about VC?
- What does this policy look like in practice?
And much more.
Learnings from this article are potentially useful to any VC struggling to mobilize local LPs, regardless of where they're geographically-based. I hope you enjoy.
This article is for RO paid subscribers only. We sell annual subscriptions to VCs & universities. If you'd like to book a demo, please do so below. We'd love to chat!
Biography
Amma Gyampo is the CEO of Ghana’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA).
Last year, GVCA launched an industry compact to mobilize 5% of domestic pension and insurance assets under management (AUM) into VC/PE investments.
The compact has been endorsed by signatories including some of Ghana’s largest pension trustees and fund managers. These include Axis Pensions, Petra Trust, Enterprise Trustees, Stanbic Investment Management (SIMS). Others like SSNIT, Glico, Databank, and Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme (GESOPS) are engaging closely with GVCA, through various capacity building and knowledge exchange activities.
In this exclusive RO interview, Amma explains how the advocacy is taking place, what technical structures/innovative finance features are being deployed , and what the reform looks like in practice.
Can you explain what the GVCA is?
We’re an industry association for Ghana’s venture capital and private equity professionals. Many of our members are pan-African actors who happen to also have a presence in Ghana. We’re active partners with AVCA, the African Venture Capital Association.
We work on multiple fronts in the best interest of our members, building our industry’s capacity through an ecosystem approach. This includes organizing business investment readiness programmes, presenting our members with pipeline, and working closely with policymakers/regulators to negotiate favorable reforms.
How did this idea of “mandating” Ghanaian institutional investors to invest in VC come about?