The disclosure problem in African Private Markets
African private markets have always celebrated fundraising rounds, yet fundraising tells us almost nothing about whether capital ever returns. It measures money flowing in, not money flowing out. It rises when global liquidity is abundant and falls when conditions tighten, making it one of the weakest indicators of actual market performance. This problem is even more pronounced in the VC ecosystem because exit information is often limited and hard to track. Without visibility into exits, the ecosystem has been operating with a blind spot at its centre. New LPs struggle to price liquidity risk, and GPs are left without clear benchmarks, leaving many investors relying on anecdotes rather than data. This opacity has real costs: It distorts valuations and channels capital toward markets that look active but lack depth, weakening the ecosystem’s ability to mature.
The SVL Index changes this.
For the first time, the ecosystem can transparently measure liquidity
