Africa’s Funds Evolution: How Mauritius and South Africa Can Lead

In an evolving African funds market shaped by technological advancement, a greater focus on sustainability, regulatory shifts and changing investor behaviours, consistency of service and tailored solutions should be front of mind for fund administrators.

Charlie Brownlee and Neeraj Nawaz explain that is paving the way for JTC’s operations in both of those locations to grow in tandem.

Thanks to added layers of regulatory, reporting and structuring complexity, the expectations of fund managers in Africa when it comes to administration have shifted in recent years from largely basic back-office support towards being strategic partners.

In that light, JTC’s team in South Africa has seen first-hand how working with colleagues from across the firm’s global network can add value and provide holistic fund administration solutions – and increasingly that is being seen in the symbiotic relationship between South Africa and Mauritius.

It’s no secret that South Africa’s addition to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘grey list’ in 2023 was a challenge for the country, creating an element of market uncertainty. With the authorities having successfully addressed the FATF’s recommendations, however, that grey listing was lifted in 2025 – and that has been a catalyst for optimism.

Within the investment fund space, we’ve seen the tangible impact of that outcome through an uptick in new fund launches. This positivity is particularly significant in the private equity space and wider alternatives market. Infrastructure, for example, is an area in South Africa that offers considerable opportunity, from electricity and renewable energy, to transport and communications, with assets such as railways, roads and ports receiving attention from investors.

It’s not all plain sailing though. Balanced against this surging tide of optimism and opportunity are some persistent challenges in the African market – from political instability and weak governance to limited access to finance and skills gaps.

Being able to address those challenges effectively is critical in enabling South Africa – and the African funds market more widely – to realise its potential. This is where being able to tap into the cross-border structuring, oversight and servicing capabilities of JTC’s team in Mauritius alongside its South Africa team is proving to be particularly attractive.

Cross-jurisdictional support

Fund managers are well versed in using South African platforms to access local investors and deploy capital into African assets. Equally, South African managers and investors frequently use Mauritian structures to reach international markets or streamline their cross-border investment operations.

JTC’s teams in South Africa act as the specialist outsourced fund administration centre of excellence, providing solutions to support all fund types across multiple jurisdictions and asset classes. The team delivers a comprehensive range of services to managers in South Africa and abroad, including client onboarding, company secretarial, financial reporting, fund accounting and transfer agency services.

Meanwhile, Mauritius is highly experienced in providing end to end fund services, from domiciliation, providing resident directors, local bank accounts and registered office solutions, right through to corporate secretarial and accounting. In addition, Mauritius’ extensive network of double taxation agreements (DTA) across African and other emerging markets is a particular benefit in enhancing tax efficiency.

In the experience of JTC’s teams in South Africa and Mauritius, both jurisdictions are playing an increasingly significant and complementary role in the evolving African funds market, serving different but synergistic parts of the investment ecosystem, from capital formation and distribution to cross-border structuring and servicing.

This complementary offering brings with it consistency, familiarity and optionality and this is playing out well amongst managers.

At a technology level, for example, using the same platforms and tools across JTC’s teams in both jurisdictions enables managers to receive a consistent service, particularly when it comes to fund accounting, irrespective of type of fund, whether it’s open ended or close, private equity or venture capital.

At a personal level too, the teams in both locations work closely together on a regular basis, further increasing the opportunities for collaboration.

With managers in Africa increasingly focused on service quality and consistency as well as cost, being able to draw on a familiar service across both South Africa and Mauritius brings considerable advantages, on the one hand being able to guarantee a seamless, joined-up service offering and on the other being able to offer tailored solutions to flex cost efficiencies too.

From a JTC perspective, staff retention is a major factor too. Nurtured through the firm’s shared ownership model, JTC’s above-benchmark 96% staff retention rate is a differentiator; it’s the basis upon which its relationship-driven ethos is built and one of the reasons why the team continues to be selected as a trusted outsourcing partner to fund managers. In an African market where reputation and service quality is so important, this high level of Group-wide staff retention is significant.

Further Evolution

Looking ahead, as Africa’s funds market continues to evolve, we see the complementary propositions of South Africa and Mauritius becoming more and more important.

With other markets on the continent, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana, developing in terms of maturity and asset class sophistication, being able to efficiently and securely drive capital will require a specialist blend of domestic Africa knowledge and cross-border capability – again highlighting the opportunity for South Africa and Mauritius to work together.

In addition, the ongoing convergence between the private capital and institutional investment space is likely to present Mauritius with a significant opportunity to draw on its traditionally strong capability in African private wealth and bring institutional grade solutions to that market.

And as African investors become increasingly sophisticated in their approach and adopt strategies of diversification, being able to bring added value solutions to the table will be important too. Being able to tap into expertise across JTC’s global network in complementary areas such as sustainability services, custody and digital asset solutions will resonate with the African market – all delivered through a familiar technology platform, as a ‘one stop shop’ for managers.

As positivity returns to the African market and as the strategies and ambitions of managers continue to evolve, JTC sees real opportunity for its teams in South Africa and Mauritius to work together and deliver the seamless, flexible and bespoke solutions managers need – delivered through a commitment to technological innovation and a consistent relationship-driven approach.

There’s no doubt, the synergies between Mauritius and South Africa are only going to become more and more important in the years ahead.