Africa is vast, structurally diverse and shaped by sharply different regional rhythms. Patterns of capital formation, consumer behaviour, regulatory development and exit pathways vary dramatically across the continent. Treating Africa as a single market does not simply flatten its complexity. It leads to mispricing.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the contrast between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the overlooked opportunity emerging between them.
North Africa has historically been outward-facing. Deep commercial ties with Europe and the Gulf have shaped how companies are formed, scaled and financed. Many founders instinctively look north and east, towards Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar, rather than south into Sub-Saharan Africa.
