What Open Capital does

Open Capital Advisors (OCA) is a management consulting and financial advisory firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with operations across seven African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal) and engagement experience spanning 30+ African markets. The firm serves four primary client groups: innovative businesses ranging from startups to enterprises, impact investors and development finance institutions, bilateral and multilateral development partners (including USAID, DFID/FCDO, and the World Bank), and African governments. As of the most recent data, Open Capital employs 170+ professionals from over 15 nationalities and reports 1,800+ cumulative engagements since inception.

The firm's service portfolio is organized into three core lines — Consulting, Capital Markets, and an Innovations Platform for launching new market-gap-filling entities — delivered through 12 specialized practice areas covering Agriculture & Food Systems, Clean Energy, Gender Smart Approaches, Climate Action, Water/Sanitation/Hygiene, Financial Services, Humanitarian, Healthcare, Education & Employment, Technology, Consumer Goods & Manufacturing, and Sustainable Mobility. Proprietary intellectual capital includes a Market Systems Development Approach for humanitarian settings, a Gender Lens Investing Framework for agricultural SMEs, and Blended Finance Structuring capabilities. Notable transaction outcomes include advisory on Sun King's $130M securitization (the first of its kind in Africa), Turaco's $10M Series A, Roam's $14M Series A plus $10M debt, and cumulative mobilization of over $420M for gender-smart businesses.

Open Capital is structured as a private partnership, with Co-CEOs Andreas Zeller and Annie Roberts, and Partners Neil Wood and Nathalie Gogue Ebo (who joined the partnership in June 2023 after leading the firm's West Africa expansion since 2019). Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements and transaction advisory fees, with multi-year contracts with development partners forming a core recurring revenue base. Marketing and lead generation rely primarily on thought leadership publications, case studies, conference participation, and referral networks within the African development finance ecosystem. The firm is GDPR-compliant and has no public parent company, external equity backing, or subsidiaries disclosed in the input data.

Name

Open Capital

Legal name

Open Capital Advisors

Website

https://opencapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Open Capital Advisors is a Nairobi-headquartered management consulting and financial advisory firm founded in 2010, serving innovative businesses, investors, development partners (USAID, FCDO, World Bank), and governments across 30+ African markets with 170+ professionals in seven country offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting & Financial Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB), Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI), Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

Keywords

• Management consulting services
• Financial advisory services
• Transaction advisory
• Capital markets advisory
• Market systems development

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting: Strategy consulting engagements with businesses, investors, development partners, and governments. Engagements include market research, business diagnostics, growth strategies, operational improvements, and implementation support across various sectors and practice areas.
2. Capital Markets Advisory: Transaction advisory services including deal structuring, due diligence, finance vehicle structuring, and portfolio strategy. Advises businesses and investors as they raise, structure, and deploy capital.
3. Transaction Advisory: Direct transaction support for capital raises including Series A, securitizations, and debt raises. The firm has advised on landmark transactions including Sun King's $130M securitization and multiple capital raises for portfolio companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Open Capital is a management consulting and financial advisory firm that helps innovative businesses, investors, development partners, and governments across Africa drive growth, enable investment, and build markets. The firm delivers management consulting (strategy, growth planning, operational improvement, implementation support) and capital markets advisory (transaction advisory, deal structuring, due diligence, portfolio strategy) through 12 specialized practice areas spanning agriculture, clean energy, gender, climate, water/sanitation, financial services, humanitarian, healthcare, education, technology, consumer goods, and sustainable mobility.

Product overview

Open Capital is a management consulting and financial advisory firm that offers a unified portfolio of professional services rather than a software product. The core offerings consist of three main service lines: Consulting (strategy consulting with local African expertise), Capital Markets (transaction advisory, finance structuring, due diligence, and portfolio strategy), and Innovations (launching new organizations to address market gaps). These are delivered through 12 specialized practice areas covering Agriculture & Food Systems, Clean Energy, Gender Smart Approaches, Climate Action, Water Sanitation & Hygiene, Financial Services, Humanitarian, Healthcare, Education & Employment, Technology, Consumer Goods & Manufacturing, and Sustainable Mobility. The firm operates across 7 African country offices (Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal) providing advisory services to businesses, investors, development partners, and governments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting Services Management consulting combining global best-in-class strategy consulting expertise with deep local experience, knowledge, and networks across Africa. Focus is on outcomes from strategies and design through operations and implementation.
• Capital Markets Services Advisory services for businesses and investors raising, structuring, and deploying capital. Brings expertise across transaction advisory, finance vehicle structuring, due diligence, and portfolio strategy.
• Innovations Platform Platform to launch and run new organizations and partnerships to bridge identified market gaps that no one else is solving, leveraging insights from frontline business work.
• Agriculture & Food Systems Practice Advisory services focused on agricultural development and food systems transformation across African markets.
• Clean Energy Practice Services supporting transition to clean, reliable, and affordable energy access in Africa focusing on off-grid solar, productive use of energy, mini-grids, commercial and industrial solutions, clean cooking, and e-mobility.
• Gender Smart Approaches Practice Services to improve gender equity and women empowerment by integrating gender smart approaches in business operations and investment decisions, supporting women-owned/led businesses to raise capital and scale operations.
• Climate Action Practice Climate lens applied across all work in agriculture, clean energy, water and sanitation, mobility, and forestry, including research, strategy design, and supporting businesses to scale climate action.
• Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Practice Services contributing to improving sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene across Africa by supporting innovative interventions by businesses, non-profits, funders, and government agencies.
• Financial Services Practice Services working with financial innovators in fintech, trade finance, insurance, leasing, and microfinance to develop new strategies, realize scale, and raise capital.
• Humanitarian Practice Market-driven approaches and innovative finance solutions tailored for humanitarian settings and fragile environments, focusing on building inclusive markets for displaced and host communities.
• Healthcare Practice Services working with healthcare companies, medical supply chain providers, and investors on healthcare products, services, and systems that improve patient care and accelerate innovation toward Universal Health Coverage.
• Education & Employment Practice Services working with education providers, employers, and development partners from pre-primary to tertiary and vocational levels to build sustainable approaches to improving educational quality, access, and workforce modernization.
• Technology Practice Partnership with tech entrepreneurs to scale new solutions solving big problems across sectors including agtech, healthtech, edtech, fintech, and tech powering energy access and WASH.
• Consumer Goods & Manufacturing Practice Services helping consumer goods companies, manufacturers, and logistics providers improve efficiency in production, supply chain, and last-mile distribution.
• Sustainable Mobility Practice Services providing strategic guidance, innovative solutions, and implementation support in the mobility sector to advance sustainable mobility, reduce carbon emissions, and foster economic growth.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,800+ engagements completed across 30+ African markets since 2010
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• African Development Bank (AfDB) ACFMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2024Through AfDB's Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM) program, Open Capital provides targeted transaction advisory and technical assistance to agri-SMEs, helping businesses like myAgro and Omia expand their impact reaching more women farmers. Supported myAgro with $1.3M capital injection structuring.
• Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted landscape analysis of climate finance options for agriculture across sub-Saharan Africa, assessing status quo, barriers, and opportunities to scale climate finance. Produced joint report on Climate Finance Innovation for Agriculture.
• USAID Kenya Investment Mechanism (KIM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year investment readiness and transaction support partner responsible for deal identification, pipeline building, investment readiness, and transaction support across agriculture, energy, WASH, health, and infrastructure. Closed ~$50M in transactions.
• USAID TRAINcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed TRAIN (Talent to de-Risk and Accelerate Investment) partnership with USAID and seven global impact investors. Investment Readiness Program catalyzed $24M in transactions for high-impact SMEs in East and Southern Africa.
• USAID Power AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year program delivering CFO and treasury management services to 30 renewable energy companies across Africa. Generated $750M pipeline across 20 African countries and mobilized >$300M in private sector capital.
• FinDev Canada Invest2ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported 100 women-led entrepreneurs in East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda) through coaching and capacity building across sectors including education, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and renewable energy.
• 2X GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoined 2X Global as member, contributing to gender lens investing ecosystem and thought leadership on gender-smart capital deployment in Africa.
• Women Who Build AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to host WWBA Assembly, supporting women entrepreneurs and building ecosystem connections across Africa.
• Water.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched partnerships in Nigeria with financial institutions to mobilize USD 19M for access to water and sanitation.
• FSD KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted market mapping of Kenyan fintech sector in partnership with Capital Markets Authority Kenya to assess feasibility of regulatory sandbox for fintech innovations.
• AcumencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on market-building work across East Africa and investment experience, informing report on investing in displacement-affected communities based on interviews with founders, customers, investors, and partners.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEOF implementation partner alongside UN Women and Open Capital, working with women entrepreneurs in South Sudan through the Women Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility Growth Lab.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEOF implementation partner alongside IRC and Open Capital, supporting women entrepreneurs in South Sudan.
• International NGO (refugee energy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned innovative strategy for 10-year humanitarian energy program in Uganda, conceptualizing sustainable clean energy access for refugee settings. Program received additional funding and targets 100,000+ people.
• World Bank/Lighting GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authored biannual Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report with Lighting Global/World Bank Group and GOGLA in 2020 and 2022.
• TradeMark East AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped Trade Finance funding mechanisms for East Africa's horticulture sector to improve market access and financing.
• Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner representation on ANDE's West Africa Chapter steering committee, contributing to small and growing business ecosystem development.
• Siemens StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted market research across 12 African markets to identify how social enterprises can create 1 million new jobs by 2030. Co-authored Social Enterprises as Job Creators in Africa report.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company (Africa Practice): Global strategy consulting firm with a growing Africa presence serving consumer goods, energy, financial services, and development sector clients. Comparable to Open Capital in serving innovative businesses and impact investors, but at much larger scale and broader sector coverage.
• EY-Parthenon (Africa): Global strategy and transaction consulting arm of EY with significant Africa footprint, offering corporate finance, due diligence, and strategy advisory. Comparable on transaction advisory mandates such as securitizations and capital raises for African corporates and SMEs.
• McKinsey & Company (Africa Practice): Global strategy consulting firm with a dedicated Africa practice serving governments, large corporations, and development finance institutions. Operates as a broad incumbent offering the full range of strategy and capital advisory at scale across African markets.
• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change: International advisory organization providing strategy and policy advisory to African governments and development partners. Overlaps with Open Capital on government advisory, market development, and donor-funded program design across African markets.
• Boston Consulting Group (Africa Practice): Global strategy consulting firm with a longstanding Africa practice spanning energy, financial services, and public sector engagements. Competes with Open Capital for donor-funded programs and large enterprise advisory mandates across the continent.
• KPMG Africa (Advisory): Big 4 professional services network with a substantial Africa advisory practice covering transaction services, deal advisory, and development sector consulting. Competes with Open Capital on transaction advisory, due diligence, and donor program implementation at the larger enterprise and government level.

Direct peers

• Adam Smith International: Development-focused advisory firm implementing donor-funded economic growth, governance, and market systems programs across Africa and emerging markets. Closely comparable to Open Capital's donor-funded program work, particularly with FCDO, USAID, and other bilateral partners.
• Sahel Consulting: Africa-focused management and agricultural consulting firm serving businesses, investors, and development partners across West and East Africa. Notably, Sahel Consulting is a former employer of Open Capital Partner Nathalie Gogue Ebo, making it a close functional peer in agribusiness and SME advisory.
• FSD Africa (Financial Sector Deepening Africa): Development-funded organization that provides advisory, capital mobilization, and market systems support for African financial sector development. Closely comparable to Open Capital's Financial Services practice, with overlapping donor relationships (FCDO, Gates Foundation) and similar capital advisory mandate.
• Dalberg: Global strategy consulting firm with a deep Africa and development practice, providing advisory services to businesses, donors, and governments on emerging market growth, capital raising, and market systems — directly comparable to Open Capital's consulting and capital markets offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opencapital

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Capital