Cross-border team moderates a panel on deal-making trends in Africa

Norton Rose Fulbright recently partnered with The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice African Legal Fellows to discuss opportunities and pitfalls for private equity and institutional investors looking towards the African consumer, media, and entertainment sector and considerations to minimize risk and maximize value.

Norton Rose Fulbright partner and Vance Center Committee member Ikenna Emehelu (New York) and Norton Rose Fulbright director Mark Griffiths (Johannesburg) moderated the panel of legal professionals participating from Johannesburg, Accra, Lagos, and Nairobi for a pan-African and North American audience.

The panel discussion addressed trends in investment opportunities, such as increased mergers and acquisitions by Africa-based investors, the growth of Africa-based private equity funds, and the increase in the number of technology sector start-ups.

Panelists also discussed investment challenges like political instability, policy uncertainty, security challenges, and the need for institutional reforms, concluding that investors should work closely with local partners and African-based stakeholders to navigate these specific sectors. 

For nearly two decades the Vance Center’s African Legal Fellows Program has focused on providing aspiring African lawyers the opportunity to work as international associates at major law firms and corporate legal departments in the United States where individuals are able to gain and develop experience, contacts and skills, as well as pro bono practice ethics. To learn more, visit The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice website.