A whirlwind week here in the UK has left me inspired about the prospects for private equity and venture capital, despite the current global outlook for continued geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds.
On Tuesday I took my first trip out of London since a visit to Jersey in February 2020. Returning to the island this week was like threading together the loose ends of my networks, picking up where I had left off before the Covid-19 lockdowns. After a quick 45-minute flight from London I was in Jersey for 24 hours to catch up with investment funds and private wealth contacts there, all buzzing about the business outlook.
In Jersey I took the opportunity to stay in St Brelade’s Bay, one of the UK’s finest beaches, where I got a good deal on a room overlooking the beach in a quiet cove with easy access to the business district of St Helier. On a 120km² island everything is a short drive away. St Brelade offered a wonderful moment of silence and reconnection with nature.
However, the peaceful vibe was quickly undone by the midweek, stressful horror of Gatwick airport when returning to London on Wednesday evening. Let’s just say the apocalyptic vision of Dante’s Inferno pales in comparison.
On Thursday I had another busy but inspiring day. I recorded an episode of the African Business podcast with the founder of supply chain and distribution company Wasoko, Daniel Yu, a 32-year-old Californian entrepreneur now based in Zanzibar. Yu has just raised $125m in Series B venture capital funding from Tiger and Avenir. His company serves the so-called “informal” retail market in East Africa.
Having started with a remarkable idea to disrupt inefficiencies in this market in 2015, Wasoko is now valued at $625m. Despite all the success, Yu’s humility is incredible. For example, he has made the effort to learn Swahili so as to better understand his colleagues and customers.
After a long, delightful Zoom conversation with Yu about the global competition of ideas for venture capital, and how the shift to impact investing will soon see capital flows into Africa proliferate, I went to join kingmakers in the venture capital space at the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association summit at the sumptuous Landmark Hotel in Marylebone.
The daylong summit has always been a not-to-be-missed mainstay of my calendar, and last week being the first in-person summit since 2019 I was super excited about reconnecting with old friends. Arriving at 4pm I managed to catch the last “power hour” of the conference, as well as the closing reception.
The final section of the agenda sped through the latest on climate frameworks and disclosures for funds, and I also got to see the winners of the Excellence in ESG awards; heard from the UK treasury select committee and government on the outlook for venture capital; and caught Michael Moore, director-general of the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, interviewing Lord Jim “Brics” O’Neill.
It’s an exciting time for the private equity and venture capital community in the UK, possibly one of the only communities in the country that have found much to be positive about in chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s much-maligned mini-budget. A number of important supports for enterprise and innovation were missed by the media.
As British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association venture capital policy manager Chris Elphick explains, “aside from the good news on plans to extend the Enterprise Investment Scheme/Venture Capital Trust sunset clause and bring forward reforms to the defined contribution pensions charge cap, another positive proposal was the introduction of a Long-term Investment for Technology & Science competition. The growth plan details a proposal to provide up to £500m ... to help increase private investment into UK science and technology businesses.”
• Dr Masie, a former senior editor of the Financial Mail, is chief strategist at IC Publications in London.
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