Stears, Africa’s financial data provider, in partnership with Ventures Platform, one of the continent’s foremost seed-stage VC firms, has launched the Stears-VP Liquidity Index (SVL Index), which is a first-of-its-kind benchmark designed to track liquidity conditions and exit momentum across African private markets.
Unveiled at the third annual Africa Prosperity Summit, the Index is positioned to transform how investors understand liquidity across African venture and private equity ecosystems by providing a trusted, continuously updated data source.
With the launch, Stears and Ventures Platform says they are addressing one of the continent’s longest-standing challenges, which is reliable, standardised data on exits, positioning the Index as a catalyst for smarter capital allocation and stronger returns across Africa’s private markets.
They noted that the index was built on a decade of exit data and confidential submissions from leading African GPs—with Stears serving as the sole data custodian—the SVL Index offers quarterly and annual indicators as well as sectoral and regional breakdowns.
Preston Ideh, Stears’ CEO described the launch as a defining moment for African private markets.
“Launching the SVL Index is an important milestone because it creates a single way to track African GP performance, access previously undisclosed data, and tell a more accurate story of how African VC has grown over the years,” he said.
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Dotun Olowoporoku, managing partner at Ventures Platform, highlighted the implications for long-term ecosystem development. “This Index is more than a diagnostic tool; it is part of our long-term commitment to building the information infrastructure Africa’s venture ecosystem needs to mature.
“By bringing ten years of exit data into a single, transparent benchmark, the SVL Index enables GPs and LPs to plan with confidence and model liquidity more accurately,” he noted.
Insights from the inaugural dataset show a strong rebound in liquidity following a global tech downturn in 2022–23. The overall Index climbed from 113.27 at the end of 2024 to 130.28 in Q3 2025, signalling faster exit activity and renewed buyer interest across the ecosystem.
Venture liquidity has also recovered, rising from 96.42 during the downturn to 116.34 in 2025, reflecting improving sentiment in African tech markets.
Stears noted that these shifts present a clearer picture of where and when liquidity is building—insight that is critical for GPs planning exits and for LPs evaluating ecosystem maturity.
The SVL Index will also anchor the forthcoming 2025 VC Liquidity Report, developed in collaboration with Nomad Capital Advisory and Kara Ventures. The annual report is expected to deepen insights into liquidity patterns, deal activity, and exit strategies across African markets.
