Conclusion

An observation cropped up in my interview with CDC’s Managing Director for Africa, Rod Evison, that merits revisiting: ‘While money is the ultimate commodity, it can be differentiated by the hands through which it passes.’ Evison made this comment in the context of his organisation’s impact on environmental and social governance, but I believe that there are a number of other ways in which money can be affected by the identity and actions of its provider. Together, they go to the heart of why private equity in the developed world lost its way in the middle of the last decade, but also why the industry holds the potential to enjoy a bright future in terms of both economic returns and its contribution to society.