Sir Bob Geldof has launched a private equity fund to raise $750m for investment in Africa. It would rank as one of the largest in the market for African deals.

Geldof, lead singer in the former rock band The Boomtown Rats and a philanthropist who has long campaigned against poverty in Africa, has teamed up with Mark Florman, a former executive at UK buyout firm Doughty Hanson, according to a statement from a potential investor.