LONDON, Sept 10 – Fundraising for private credit funds targeting emerging and developing economies more than doubled in the first half of 2026, as institutional investors increased their exposure to private lending strategies despite a more challenging global economic environment, CNBC Africa reported on Thursday.
Data from the Global Private Capital Association showed that emerging-market private credit funds raised $8.7 billion during the first six months of the year, compared with $3.6 billion in the same period of 2025. The figure is already close to the $11 billion raised across the whole of 2025.
Jeff Schlapinski, managing director of research at GPCA, said investor demand could remain strong, particularly for strategies targeting high-growth markets in Asia.
The increase reflects sustained interest from limited partners, including pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors, seeking private credit exposure in growth markets.
However, stronger fundraising has not translated into higher deal volumes. GPCA recorded 215 private credit transactions worth $6.7 billion during the first half of 2026, sharply below the 373 deals worth a record $22.5 billion completed during 2025 and the $11.8 billion recorded in the first half of last year.
Schlapinski attributed the slowdown to heightened uncertainty across the global economy.
“Credit conditions are uncertain globally due to continued inflation risks, trade tensions and geopolitical conflicts,” he said.
Investors Reassess Emerging-Market Risk
Private credit has expanded significantly as investment funds increasingly provide direct financing to companies and infrastructure projects, including borrowers that may face tighter access to traditional bank lending.
The global private credit market has grown to roughly $3.5 trillion over the past two decades, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association. Less than 10% of that capital is currently deployed in emerging markets, leaving considerable room for further expansion if investor appetite continues to strengthen.
Investment firm Ninety One reported that the value of transactions it facilitated reached $2.1 billion during the 18 months through June, representing a 40% increase from the preceding period.
Nazmeera Moola, Ninety One’s chief commercial officer for private markets, said the market had evolved considerably as the investor base broadened.
“Eighteen months to two years ago, this was complete missionary work … it was very creative fundraising,” Moola told Reuters.
She said investors now include development finance institutions, pension and insurance funds, sovereign wealth funds and private investment firms.
Moola also said geopolitical developments were prompting investors to reassess emerging-market risks and consider greater diversification beyond the United States.
More than one-third of Ninety One’s 90-plus transactions were concentrated in infrastructure and real assets, including renewable energy, digital infrastructure and telecommunications. Much of the activity was in Asian and Latin American markets such as India, Brazil and Mexico.
Infrastructure Debt Draws Capital
The growing focus on infrastructure is also shaping new private credit vehicles. Ninety One plans to launch an emerging-markets infrastructure debt fund with a target size of between $500 million and $1 billion by the end of the year.
The fund has already attracted commitments from the International Finance Corporation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Swedfund, underscoring the role of development finance institutions in helping mobilise private capital toward infrastructure in developing economies.
For emerging markets, the growth of private credit could provide an alternative source of financing as banks and traditional lenders face tighter conditions and investors become more selective.
Schlapinski said continued global instability could weaken traditional funding channels for the remainder of the year, potentially increasing demand for private lenders capable of structuring financing around individual borrowers and projects.
That shift could be particularly significant for infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and other capital-intensive sectors across emerging markets, where financing gaps remain substantial and conventional funding can be difficult to secure.
