Emerging markets private equity firm Actis, which pulled out of the Rwandan market recently by selling its shares in Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR), has raised US$278 million for investment in African real estate to ride a housing boom fuelled by a growing middle class.Actis, one of the largest private equity investors in the world’s poorest countries, said on Tuesday the fund, Actis Africa Real Estate 2, will focus on retail and office development in east, west and southern Africa, excluding South Africa.Although African economies are growing quickly - second only to Asia - there is a lack of sufficient liquidity in Africa’s public capital markets, and investors are increasingly turning to private equity to tap into the continent’s economic growth."Sub-Saharan Africa has a population of 800 million people and is the fastest urbanising region in the world but lack of capital often constrains real estate development,” David Morley, head of Real Estate at Actis, said in a statement."Governments recognise the crucial role of FDI (foreign direct investment) in this regard.”Infrastructure development is a capital-intensive business that most African governments struggling with large budget deficits cannot afford, making other regions more attractive to investors.The private equity group has over US$300 million invested in the east African region.