The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), South Africa’s state-owned asset manager with over R3.5 trillion (US$204 billion) under management, has invested US$30 million into Enko Capital’s Africa-focused private credit fund, marking a major vote of confidence in the continent’s fast-emerging private credit market.
The commitment brings Enko Capital, a pan-African alternative asset manager with US$1.4 billion in assets under management, significantly closer to its US$150 million target for the fund, which has a hard cap of US$200 million and is scheduled for final close in the second half of 2026.
The investment is the first transaction under a landmark partnership signed earlier this year between the PIC and British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, designed to channel more flexible capital into high-growth African businesses.
Enko’s private credit strategy targets the continent’s estimated US$330 billion SME financing gap by providing tailored, senior-secured debt solutions to mid-market companies. Unlike traditional private equity, private credit offers self-liquidating instruments that deliver faster return cycles while generating measurable developmental impact.
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Patrick Dlamini, CEO of the PIC, said the investment aligns perfectly with the corporation’s mandate to drive financial inclusion and sustainable returns.\
“Partnering with Enko Capital, BII, and other like-minded institutions will expand the availability of flexible capital to mid-sized African businesses, helping to scale employment, industrial capacity and long-term value creation across the continent,” Dlamini stated.
Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of BII, welcomed the PIC’s participation, describing it as a concrete step forward in the two institutions’ collaboration to mobilise greater private-sector capital into Africa.
Alain Nkontchou, Managing Partner of Enko Capital, hailed the commitment as a continuation of a nearly decade-long relationship with the PIC, which has backed Enko since 2016.
“This anchor investment from Africa’s largest institutional investor, alongside BII and our global base of impact and commercial LPs, validates the growing role of private credit in unlocking the continent’s economic potential,” Nkontchou said.
The deal underscores rising institutional appetite for African private credit as investors seek risk-adjusted returns combined with tangible developmental outcomes in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.
