Africa’s private equity scene is looking more and more attractive to global investors seeking higher returns from riskier assets on the continent other than traditional debt and equity options, which are expected to slow down in coming years due to the US tapering program.

A new survey named ” Broadening Horizons” conducted by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) in conjunction with EY (formerly Ernst & Young) showed that PE firms operating in Africa made higher returns than listed equities and was expected to continue growing in coming years.

AVCA, which polled 48 global investment firms that representing more than $150 billion in global private equity assets under management, said 70 percent expect returns from Africa to outperform other emerging markets, with nearly a quarter believing African private investments to have 5 percent or more return premium.

The research also looked at the exits, the measure of if investors have achieved their returns, that PE firms had done between 2007 and 2013. Financial services was the top sector from most investors exited in Africa mainly due to increase use of technology such as mobile money in the sector which had enable more Africans to access financial services.

“This sector has long been popular with the region’s PE houses, particularly as technological innovations, such as mobile payments, have made financial services products more accessible for even the remotest of communities,” AVCA said in the survey report.

The report said the market is however characterized by smaller deals compared to other markets in the world since many nascent economies in the region. More than 46 percent of the entry deals were leass than $10 million.

In comparison to other established markets, the report said ‘Africa was in favorable light’ with PE firm on the continent outperforming those in North America and Europe by more than one-fifth.

“Investors seem to be prepared for the fluctuations, nonetheless, believing the continent’s resilience to the global economic slowdown, its huge population, growing wealth and various social and political reforms signal better times ahead,” Amy Or at the WSJ said in a blog post.