The 2026 SuperReturn Africa Awards, taking place on December 1st, will bring together over 700 senior private market professionals in Cape Town. As the official data partner, Stears will provide a structured dataset to track capital movement across the continent. This dataset, updated daily, covers over 1,500 fund managers, 1,400 fund vehicles, and 9,000 transactions. Stears' role ensures that nominees and winners in GP and service provider categories are selected based on recorded activity.
The awards ceremony will recognize GPs, investors, and service providers who have shaped African private markets. There are six awards for fund managers: Pan-African Fund Manager of the Year, Regional Fund Manager of the Year, Emerging Manager of the Year, Best VC Fund Manager of the Year, Best Female Fund Manager, and Exit of the Year. One award, Service Provider of the Year, also recognizes a crucial firm in transactions. Another award, Outstanding Contribution to Private Capital, will be decided through nominations reviewed by SuperReturn's judges.
The method for selecting winners involves five steps: data, principles, eligibility rules, scoring, and category application. Stears uses its reference database of African private capital, which is updated daily and covers various fund managers, transactions, and investor commitments. Between January 1st, 2025, and August 31st, 2026, Stears recorded 1,626 announced transactions and 83 fund closes across 72 managers. A total of 397 managers logged two or more qualifying events during this period.
Three principles guide the scoring: counting activity, not disclosed values; comparing like with like; and rewarding fundraising without making it a gate. The scoring counts investments, exits, and fund closes, as deal values are not publicly disclosed in most cases. Managers are ranked against others in the same strategy group, ensuring a fair comparison. A fundraising uplift is added to the base score, rewarding managers who raised funds without penalizing those who did not.
To be eligible, a manager must have announced at least two qualifying events and at least one investment into an African-headquartered company or closed a fund with a stated African mandate. The awards recognize third-party fiduciary fund managers, excluding development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, corporate investors, and angel networks. A manager's base score is out of 100, plus a fundraising uplift of up to 25 points, with deployment and realization determining the base score.
The base score consists of deployment (60%) and realization (40%), with each ranked against managers in the same strategy group. The fundraising uplift rewards managers for closing follow-on funds or first-time funds. This methodology ensures that awards built on data are credible and transparent, with every step and result traceable to published sources.
By providing a detailed methodology, Stears aims to maintain the credibility of the awards. The 2026 SuperReturn Africa Awards will recognize the achievements of top private capital professionals, and Stears' data will play a crucial role in selecting the winners. The conference program will span various topics, including fundraising, private credit, infrastructure, and tech, AI, and venture capital.
Key points
- Stears serves as the official data partner for the 2026 SuperReturn Africa Awards.
- The awards will recognize GPs, investors, and service providers who have shaped African private markets.
- The methodology involves five steps: data, principles, eligibility rules, scoring, and category application.
