The African Development Bank opens a pan-African capacity-building program for domestic capital providers, implemented by I&P

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is pleased to announce the launch of the AfDB Capacity-Building Programme for Domestic Capital Providers, an initiative of the African Development Bank's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Lab designed to equip 80 African capital providers to assess a fund, size a first ticket and defend an allocation at investment committee. As the implementing partner selected by the Bank, I&P brings its experience on both sides of this market, as an investor in African companies and as an investor in African funds. 

African institutions hold the capital. Few have made a first venture allocation. 

African institutions hold substantial assets, and most of it sits in government debt and listed markets. Venture capital is permitted under many mandates but rarely used. The institutions best placed to back the continent's fastest-growing companies are largely absent from the asset class, and the fund managers who need patient local capital raise it abroad instead. 

What holds domestic capital back 

• Experience: few investment teams have run diligence on a VC fund or sized a first commitment 
• Governance: VC rarely fits existing approval processes, risk limits or reporting cycles 
• Regulation: allocation headroom exists and often goes unused, with limited internal guidance 
• Liquidity: 10-year lock-ups sit awkwardly against liability matching and short reporting horizons 
• Access: limited exposure to fund managers, experienced LPs and credible pipeline 
• Isolation: few peers to compare notes with, and no forum in which to test an allocation case before committee 

What the programme covers 

The programme runs over three months, fully online: eight practitioner-led webinars of two hours, followed by a closing two-day online bootcamp. The curriculum covers: 

• VC Fundamentals. How venture differs from private equity and SME finance, fund lifecycle, power laws, portfolio construction. 
• Deal Terms and Impact. Term sheets, valuation, dilution, and what LPs should expect from GPs on ESG and impact. 
• Fund Strategy and Diligence. Stage and sector focus, team and track record attribution, pipeline quality, governance. 
• Structuring and Economics. GP–LP alignment, fee structures and carried interest, management company sustainability. 
• Allocation and Co-Investment. Sizing a first ticket within your mandate, co-investments and direct deals. 

The bootcamp is built on real African fund cases, with LP due diligence work and investment committee simulations. Participants are grouped by institutional profile, so that a regulated pension fund, a corporate venture arm and a family office each work through the constraints that actually apply to them. 

Every participant gains access to a community of more than 50 domestic and international capital providers, and selected participants will have their attendance sponsored at the next LP Peer Group convening. 

Who should apply? 

The programme is open to African capital providers (pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, banks and financial institutions, corporates and corporate venture arms, family offices and investment holdings, foundations, local development finance institutions and asset managers), that: 

• Are headquartered in Africa and deploy capital in Africa 
• Already invest in venture capital, or are working towards a first allocation 
• Apply through investment decision-makers in a managerial role: CIOs, heads of investment, investment committee members, portfolio managers, principals 
• Can commit to eight 2h webinars, the two-day bootcamp and the baseline and endline surveys 

The programme may consider multiple applicants per institution, prioritised on need and decision-making role. Women and investment professionals under 35 are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Timeline and application 

Applications open on October 21st and close on November 13th 2026. Selected participants will be announced on November 20th, followed by a two-weeks needs assessment phase. The programme runs from December 2026 to February 2027. Participation is free of charge. 

Application link: https://form.jotform.com/fmdiagnostickifc/the-afdb-capacity-building-program- 

For any questions regarding the programme and its application process, please write to info.lpfellowship@ietp.com. 

About the IEL 

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab (IEL), under the Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD), is a flagship initiative of the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy and a core component of the Boost Africa Programme—a partnership between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) aimed at financing high-potential startups and reinforcing entrepreneurship ecosystems across Africa. 

Contact: innovation_lab@afdb.org 

X: @AfDB_Innovation 

LinkedIn: @innovationafdb