It is also looking into other prospects in Africa outside of private equity.

“We have other plans and are looking into some interesting opportunities in Africa. Those are not private equity investments, but it is too early to disclose any details,” said Søren Dal Thomsen, deputy chief executive officer of AP Pension.

The firm, which has so far invested $40m (€25.4m) in private equity in Africa, has allocated another $20m to one of the ECP Africa Funds, which primarily invests in the financial sector, but also in infrastructure and the health sector. Mr Dal Thomsen said it started investing in Africa because of the large number of opportunities and the scarcity of capital in the market.

The firm is aware that investing in Africa comes with some risk, since some countries are experiencing political and social tensions. However, it still believes the high returns are worth the gamble.

“The investments are not risk free. In fact, all the projects are very risky. Sure, I am very worried, but our job is not to avoid risk, but to find investment opportunities where the risk taken is being paid for,” said Mr Dal Thomsen.

Its private equity investments returned 52 per cent last year and Mr Dal Thomsen admitted that they never could have predicted such attractive returns. The private equity fund, which so far has invested $500m, will now look for larger projects to invest in, such as a gold mine in Ghana and power plants in Mozambique.

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