The Kenyan office of premier African law firm, Bowmans, has won the Outstanding Legal Advisor Award at the East African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) Awards held in Nairobi last night (28 November 2024).

This is the fourth year in a row that Bowmans has won this award, which acknowledges legal professionals who have played a pivotal role in facilitating successful private capital transactions in the region in the past year. Last week, Bowmans Kenya won the Large Law Firm of the Year Award at the Nairobi Legal Awards for the second time.

Bowmans’ Private Equity Practice has been on a winning streak of late. Earlier in November, the firm collected the Legal Advisor of the Year (Deals) trophy at the PE Africa Awards and  also took home the Private Equity Award at the Annual Africa Global Funds (AGF) Africa Service Providers Awards.

In September, Bowmans received the African Legal Awards Private Equity Team of the Year Award for advising Mauritian and French investors on the acquisition of a majority stake in one of the largest commercial and industrial solar operators in the region.

Bowmans Kenya managing partner, Paras Shah, notes, ‘It’s been a great year for the Bowmans Private Equity team and winning the EAVCA award for most Outstanding Legal Advisor is the perfect way to round off a fantastic 12 months.’

The private equity and venture capital sector in Kenya has experienced considerable growth in 2024 thanks to improved economic conditions, a favourable fundraising environment and a new regulatory framework under the Capital Markets (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2023. Despite compliance challenges, the Regulations provide a more structured and regulated environment for private equity and venture capital activities.

Key sectors, such as financial services, agriculture, healthcare, technology, consumer goods and retail, manufacturing and clean energy are attracting increasing investor interest, positioning Kenya as a leading private equity and venture capital hub in East Africa.

Shah concludes, ‘We are grateful to our superb team of professionals for their hard work and focus and to our clients for their continued trust in us as they continue to invest and transact across the region. Thank you also, to the team at the EAVCA for this highly valued recognition. We look forward to another exciting year ahead in the private equity and venture capital sector in Africa.’