Dealmaker's Log: is this $20 stack worth it for spreadsheet?

If you work in African private equity, venture capital, or adjacent business development, the hardest part of the job is often the data gap. Deal flow moves fast across the continent, but piecing together who invested where, for how much, and in which sector usually means hours of digging through press releases, LinkedIn posts, and scattered news alerts. That fragmented search eats time you should be spending on pipeline or strategy. Dealmaker’s Log exists to collapse that noise into a single, structured dataset, giving you a clean monthly view of the market’s actual activity rather than a hazy impression of it.

Quick answer

What you’re actually buying

At its core, Dealmaker’s Log is a monthly intelligence feed delivered as an Excel spreadsheet. By the 5th of every month, you receive a file containing all reported private equity, private credit, and venture capital transactions from the previous month. It is not just a list of names; each entry is standardized to include the investor name, fund name, investee company, industry, country/region, investment type, deal size, and a transaction summary. This level of granularity matters because it allows you to filter by sector or geography instantly, rather than reading through narrative summaries.

The value proposition is amplified by the historical archive. When you subscribe, you don’t just get the current month; you gain access to a database of transactions dating back to May 2023. For someone entering the African PE space or building a thesis on a specific sector, this historical depth is rare at this price point. You can look back at how a particular industry has attracted capital over the last two years, identifying patterns that a single-month view would miss. The format is deliberately simple—Excel—meaning you can integrate this data into your own models, slide decks, or CRM without needing a proprietary software license or complex API access. (Dealmaker’s Log)

Why it’s on our radar

This product stands out because it solves a very specific, high-friction problem with a low-friction solution. Most deal-tracking tools are either enterprise-grade platforms with steep price tags or free but disorganized news aggregators. Dealmaker’s Log sits in the sweet spot: it is affordable enough for a solo operator or a small fund, yet structured enough to be taken seriously in a boardroom. The specificity of the listing—tracking PE, VC, and private credit—also makes it more comprehensive than many niche trackers that focus only on early-stage venture.

One subscriber, a founder in the middle of a Series A raise, noted how the resource helps maintain perspective during the build phase. “As a founder seeking to raise series A this resource is very useful in keeping our optimism as we build,” they wrote in Gumroad reviews. That comment highlights a key utility: seeing the broader market flow provides context and confidence when your own fundraising timeline feels uncertain. It turns abstract market talk into concrete, comparable data points.

What actually matters

Before you commit, consider how you will use the data. If you need real-time notifications the moment a deal is announced, this monthly cadence may feel slow. The spreadsheet is a retrospective digest, not a live ticker. However, if your goal is analysis, reporting, or historical trend-spotting, the monthly batch delivery is actually a feature, not a bug—it ensures the data is consolidated and verified. (Dealmaker’s Log)

Also, keep in mind the data completeness caveat. The listing notes that not all information fields may be available for every transaction. While the structure is consistent, some entries may have missing deal sizes or fund names. This is typical for deal tracking in emerging markets where disclosure rules vary. If you require 100% complete datasets for rigorous financial modeling, you may need to supplement this with primary sources. But for general market awareness, pipeline tracking, and competitive intelligence, the coverage is robust. (Dealmaker’s Log)

Mid-check

If you are tracking African deal flow and want to stop manually compiling spreadsheets from news alerts, this is a low-risk way to get professional-grade structure. (Dealmaker’s Log)

See current options

FAQ

Is Dealmaker’s Log a one-time purchase or a subscription? It is a subscription service. You pay monthly or annually (with a 37.5% discount for yearly), and you receive a new spreadsheet by the 5th of each month. You can cancel at any time, and you retain access to the historical archive you’ve downloaded.

Does it cover only venture capital? No. Dealmaker’s Log tracks private equity, private credit, and venture capital transactions. This broader scope is useful if you are looking at later-stage or credit-heavy deals in addition to early-stage equity.

Can I use the data in my own presentations? Yes. Since the format is a standard Excel file, you can copy, filter, and visualize the data in PowerPoint, Tableau, or any other tool you use. It is designed to be a raw data source that you can shape into your own narratives. (Dealmaker’s Log)

How far back does the historical data go? The archive includes transactions reported since May 2023. This gives you a multi-year baseline for trend analysis, which is particularly valuable for new entrants to the African PE market who need context beyond the current quarter. (Dealmaker’s Log)

Bottom line

For $20, Dealmaker’s Log is an exceptional value if you operate in or monitor the African private capital markets. It replaces hours of manual research with a clean, standardized, and historically rich dataset. Whether you are a fund analyst building a sector thesis, a founder gauging market appetite, or a consultant tracking regional activity, this tool provides the structured backbone you need to make informed decisions. The monthly cadence and Excel format keep it accessible and easy to integrate into your existing workflow.