Since 1989

The record

• 1989

  Incorporation

  Sterling Merchant Finance Ltd is established as an investment banking and financial advisory firm, positioned to structure capital and transactions in markets that conventional financing alone often cannot serve.

• 1990s

  Privatization, restructuring and fund formation

  Sterling advises African governments and public agencies on the restructuring and privatization of state-owned enterprises, while undertaking early project-finance mandates in telecommunications and transport. The period also includes the launch of the Sterling Africa Growth Fund.

• 2000s

  Project finance at scale

  Sterling structures financing for infrastructure across power generation, airports and aviation, roads and bridges, mining, water and sanitation, working with development finance institutions and commercial lenders in multi-tranche and limited-recourse structures.

• 2010s

  Principal investment

  Sterling expands beyond transaction advisory by deploying its own capital through direct investments and affiliated vehicles, including Condona Capital and the African Overseas Private Investment Corporation. In 2013, Sterling commits US$3 million to GMS Capital Corp. to support the acquisition of a controlling interest in a Canadian international distribution network.

• 2020s

  AI and frontier technology

  Sterling builds a portfolio of AI and frontier-technology companies across the United States, Eastern Europe, India and Africa through direct investments and SPVs from pre-seed through Series B. The firm also invests through venture funds and funds of funds, develops and sponsors a dedicated Africa AI venture fund, and undertakes select advisory mandates at the intersection of AI, capital, and institutional execution.

  Sterling’s CEO also begins publishing extensively on Africa AI, investability, innovation ecosystems, trade intelligence, and economic competitiveness.