Investor Profile: Sango Capital - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Sango Capital is a Johannesburg-based investment manager focused on mid-market private equity across Africa. Founded in 2011, it invests for global institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices, and it has become one of the continent's leading providers of liquidity solutions for private equity investors.

Thesis

Sango Capital invests on a simple premise: Africa's fast-growing, domestically driven economies offer resilient growth stories, but capital supply and demand favour investors with deep local networks and on-the-ground presence. Its strategy centres on the emerging consumer's wallet, the food value chain, energy and power, and infrastructure services, and it combines fund investments, co-investments and direct investments in a single hybrid model.

Sectors & Stages

Sango Capital invests across all regions of Africa, targeting fast-growing countries with attractive investment climates, and it operates at the mid-market and upper-mid-market stages rather than at venture stage. Its core hybrid private equity funds blend primary and secondary fund positions with direct company investments, while its evergreen Sango Strategic Equity Vehicle (SSEV) targets larger businesses with substantial growth runways and longer holding periods.

Fund & Cheque Size

Sango Capital's earlier flagship funds were publicly documented at US$110 million for Fund I (2013), US$146 million for Fund II (2016) and US$106 million for Fund III (2019). In May 2026 it closed a landmark secondary transaction acquiring more than US$120 million in net asset value across four African private equity funds, spanning about 30 underlying companies in 14 markets, and in July 2026 it was appointed manager of about US$460 million in committed capital across three African fund portfolios. Its current fund size is not publicly disclosed.

Notable Portfolio

Sango Capital's portfolio includes direct investments in more than 50 companies, alongside private equity funds and co-investments, with more than 79 exits completed. Notable direct investments include the acquisition of Sotipapier, Tunisia's leading paper packaging manufacturer, from SPE Capital in 2022, and an investment in Nigeria-based grocery retailer Sundry Markets alongside Tana Africa Capital. It has also completed secondary transactions in Synergy Capital Managers' US$166 million Fund II and US$103 million Fund I.

Partners & Programs

Sango Capital was founded by Richard Okello, a former Bridgewater Associates partner, and Charles Mwebeiha, and is led by co-founders and partners including Jonathan Sengendo. It has offices in Johannesburg, Lagos and Mauritius, and it was named Leader in African Mid-Market Private Equity (Africa) 2025 by CFI.co. As an institutional manager it runs no startup accelerator or credits programme; its programmes are fund vehicles and secondary and continuation structures for limited partners and general partners.

How to apply for funding

Sango Capital does not run an open application route for startup founders, since it invests through funds, co-investments and direct deals alongside established private equity partners. Fund managers and companies seeking a co-investment or secondary solution should contact the firm through its official website, sangocapital.com, where its investment approach and contact details are published. Founders are more likely to reach it indirectly, through a Sango Capital-backed fund manager active in their market.