So how can you get involved?

Abax is a business solutions provider headquartered in Mauritius and with offices in Australia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Singapore and UAE. The company offers an array of services to global companies including company and trust services, investment and trade structuring, fund and investor services, business and technology services and domiciliation and expatriate services.

A member of the Abax Group, Abax Corporate Services operates as a Management Company in Mauritius, duly licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Commission. Abax Corporate Services advises multinationals and private equity funds on efficient structuring and administers their cross-border investments in Africa and Asia.

For over 18 years, Abax has built a strong and global client base in multiple industry verticals, and currently has over USD 14 billion under its administration.

The Abraaj Capital group is a leading private equity manager investing in global growth markets. Founded in 2002 by Arif Naqvi, the group has raised over US$ 8 billion and distributed US$ 3.5 billion to investors. Employing over 300 people, the group has 32 offices spread across 7 regional hubs in Colombia, Dubai, Istanbul, London, Mumbai, Nairobi and Singapore.  Abraaj Capital currently manages approximately US$ 7.5 billion across 25 sector and country-specific funds across 3 primary strategies: (i) Private Equity, majority and significant minority investments greater than US$ 50 million; (ii) Small and Mid-Cap (SMC), PE investing, targeting influential minority investments of less than US$ 50 million; and (iii) PE Real Estate, primarily yield-generating real estate investments. 

Actis invests exclusively in the emerging markets.

With a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America; we currently have US$5bn funds under management.

Through our work in these markets Actis is able to bring financial and social benefits to our investee companies, investors and broader civic society. We call this ethos the positive power of capital.

Combining the expertise of over 100 investment professionals on the ground in nine countries, we are proud to actively and positively grow the value of those companies in which we invest.

Actis closed its pan-emerging markets private equity fund, Actis Emerging Markets 3 (‘AEM3’) in November 2008, with commitments totalling US$2.9bn and its pan-emerging markets infrastructure fund, Actis Infrastructure 2, on 30 September 2020 with commitments totalling US$750m.

In March 2012 Actis won Catalyst PE’s ‘Deal of the Year’ award for the Tracker buyout. In 2011, Actis won two awards from AVCJ - ‘Private Equity Firm of the Year’ and ‘Indian Private Equity Exit of the Year’, whilst also winning ‘African Private Equity Firm of the Year’ for the fourth consecutive year, and ‘Latin America Private Equity Firm of the Year’, both awarded by Private Equity International Media.

You can learn more about Actis at www.act.is

AfricInvest-Tuninvest Group  was founded in 1994 and is today one of the leading private equity houses in North and Sub-Saharan Africa with over USD 700 million of assets under management across 12 PE funds sponsored by prestigious DFIs, private and institutional investors. The covered and targeted region evolved over the life of the Group from Tunisia with relatively small investments initially, to the Maghreb Region (Maghreb Private Equity Fund I, II and III) and subsequently Sub-Saharan Africa (AfricInvest Funds I and II and AfricInvest Financial Sector Fund) with significantly larger investments. The Group has recently raised a Moroccan SME fund to be managed by MarocInvest (the Moroccan subsidiary of AfricInvest-TunInvest group). This new Fund has been  structured thanks to a  Private Public Partnership with an important support of the Moroccan government .

Africinvest – TunInvest relies on a team of 40 highly qualified investment professionals with over 150 years cumulative experience, operating out of 6 main offices (Abidjan, Algiers, Casablanca, Lagos, Nairobi and Tunis).

AfricInvest – TunInvest has over 17 years of experience in impact investments in SMEs across Africa and supported around 100 company in more than 23 countries in Africa.

Allen & Overy has led the market throughout its 80-year history, continuing to serve businesses, financial institutions, and governments where there is a need for decisive legal advice on complex transactions. We have one of the most effective and largest international networks of any law firm with 42 offices in 29 countries.

Our Africa group of about 100 lawyers offers expertise on the continent predominantly from our offices in London, Paris, New York and the Middle East. Our activities in Africa have been enhanced by our capabilities in India and Asia, where we assist clients investing in Africa.

Our Casablanca office has advised clients on high profile, strategic pan-African transactions.

www.allenovery.com
+ 212 (0) 520 478 000
dalila.hammadi @allenovery.com

Capital Invest was established in 2000 and currently manages over EUR 200 Millions in assets. Through its funds under management, it has consistently positioned itself as a significant player in the private equity industry in Morocco with a portfolio of over 25 portfolio companies and about 20 exits achieving high returns.

In 2000, Capital Invest launched its first investment fund, Capital Morocco, fully invested at thebeginning of 2006, and currently in the final liquidation phase. In 2006, Capital Invest raised a second investment fund, Capital North Africa Venture Fund (“CNAV I”), which is currently completely invested and has begun its divestment phase. Capital Invest is currently fund raising for its third Fund, Capital North Africa Venture Fund II aimingat a size of EUR 100 Million.

Since its establishment, Capital Invest has endeavoured to create rounds of financing that bring together high quality investment partners committed to the success of the funds managed and sensitive to the requirements and specific characteristics of the private equity business. Furthermore, Capital Invest has made such investment open to both national investors and international investors.The mission of Capital Invest is to be an active investor in Portfolio Companies in order to create value for their investments and their Shareholders. By maintaining rigor in all its efforts, by cultivating proximity to Portfolio Companies, by having expertise in targeted sectors, and by developing a solid network of professionals, Capital Invest makes value creation its primary objective.

Casablanca Finance City (CFC) was created by the Moroccan Government as a financial gateway for investors looking to access the fast-growing markets of Africa, as well as for international businesses to set up headquarters for their regional operations.
 
CFC will confirm Morocco’s position as an international financial hub for accessing North, West and Central Africa, and will market Casablanca as a platform to the region.
 
Opportunities for investment in Africa are immense, but there are practical difficulties to accessing them. CFC was put in place to act as the business hub, one single platform, to access markets across Francophone Africa and beyond.
 
CFC will make business dealings easier for international investors targeting the Greater North West Africa (GNWA) region. The GNWA can be defined simply as the majority of French speaking countriesthat stretch from the southern tip of the DRC, all the way up to Libya and then west to the furthest reaches of the Maghreb and the Atlantic Ocean.
 
It will serve international investors as a trustworthy and accommodating capital market hub in order to take best advantage of what is still a diverse rather than a homogenous continent.

Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa. Citadel Capital focuses on building regional platforms in select industries through acquisitions, turnarounds, and greenfields executed via Opportunity-Specific Funds. The firm’s OSFs control 19 Platform Companies with investments worth more than US$ 8.7 billion in 15 countries spanning 15 industries, including mining, cement, transportation, food and energy. Since 2004, Citadel Capital has generated more than US$ 2.2 billion in cash returns to its co-investors and shareholders (on investments of US$ 650 million), more than any other private equity firm in the region. Citadel Capital is the largest private equity firm in Africa by PE assets under management (2006-2011, as ranked by Private Equity International). For more information, please visit www.citadelcapital.com.

Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading international law firms, with 34 offices in 24 countries and some 3,200 legal advisers. A single partnership, the firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across the five key markets of Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

Clifford Chance combines the highest global standards with local expertise. The firm focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: capital markets, private equity, corporate and M&A, finance and banking, arbitration and  real estate.

Clifford Chance has been active and investing in Africa for over 30 years. For the last 10 years, we have placed an increased emphasis on our African strategy which has resulted in a strong visibility on the African continent and led to the opening of our first office on African soil in Casablanca in 2012. 

We have been involved in many landmark transactions and have developed over the years, an unrivalled expertise in particular in the infrastructure, energy, banking, oil and gas and private equity sectors.

We are currently ranked "top tier" for our work in Africa by Chambers Global and have recently been awarded "Leading Africa Private Equity practice" for the last decade (2001 – 2011) by the Private Equity Awards 2012.

For more information, please visit: www.cliffordchance.com

Mediterrània Capital Partners (MCP) is one of the most active Private Equity fund managers in North Africa. Founded in 2008, MCP is currently managing over €60 million of assets through Mediterrània Capital I, a general and diversified Private Equity fund with the aim of executing Capital Growth operations across Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

The principal objectives pursued by the Mediterrània Fund in its investment strategy are the consolidation of traditional sectors in the framework of the Maghreb region, the promotion of investments in emerging sectors, the strengthening of the international presence of regional companies, and the provision of support to European firms during their establishment into the Maghreb region.

MCP’s greatest strength, and most valuable resource, is the quality of its team. All team members hold extensive operational experience with a strong know-how in PE and management of SMEs. MCP’s professionals are operating out of 4 main offices (Algiers, Barcelona, Casablanca and Tunis).For more information, please visit www.fmcapital.net.

As a Private Placement Lending Facilitator, Nationwide Finance U.S.A specializes in raising capital for private companies, governments, and banking institutions in emerging markets to facilitate Trade, Revolving Lines of Credit and Project Financing on a short-term basis.

Nationwide Finance collaborates with not only some of the leading financial institutions of the world, but also liaises with a well-defined network of various Boutique Banks, Private Finance Houses, and Equity Investment Firms, which have an appetite for emerging market debt not normally favored by mainstream lending institutions.  In this new lending environment, Nationwide Finance can introduce your project finance requests to our pool of various lenders at a no-fee cost to you. We can arrange funding against local bank guarantees on un-confirmed letters of credit with payment tenors.

With nearly 30 years experience in global trade and finance, we go beyond what most will do.  The Nationwide Group can also coordinate secured procurement and inspections of all products financed under our lending arrangement to respective vendors, arrange legal and clear title of goods, and coordinate all shipments to Buyer’s country to ensure that what is financed makes it to the desired destination.

www.nationwidefinance.us

Webber Wentzel is an African law firm with a leading Private Equity practice across the African continent.  We act for general partners, limited partners, management teams and portfolio companies advising them on all aspects of private equity fund formation and transactional matters . We have developed and refined many of the fund structures and transactional techniques which have become market accepted best practice in our markets in Africa and are consistently involved in the highest profile deals. Depending on the nature of the fund or transaction, our industry knowledge and experience in sectors such as infrastructure, mining, energy, telecoms, financial services, real estate and agriculture can help steer clients through the opportunities and challenges of investing on the continent. 

Our extensive network, our experience on the ground and our proven track record mean that we can help you achieve your investment objectives in Africa.
 
For  more information visit www.webberwentzel.com

Development Partners International LLP (together with its associates, "DPI") is a London-based private equity firm founded in 2007 by Miles Morland and Runa Alam. DPI is the investment manager to ADP I, a private equity fund that invests across Africa. With more than 70 years of investing experience in Africa, the DPI team has accumulated substantial expertise and its partners have strong track records in private equity. Through its rich mix of complementary capabilities, regional “on the ground” knowledge and language skills, DPI is able to offer a detailed understanding of the operational and transactional issues of investing in the African continent. DPI's focus is on companies benefiting from the fast-growing emerging middle class. DPI works throughout Africa and see the benefits of investing in the fast-growing, newly liberalising countries in Africa.

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) is the first private equity firm to raise more than US$1.8 billion for growth capital investing in Africa. Founded in 2000, ECP was one of the first firms dedicated to Africa which, today, translates into investments in more than 50 African companies through seven funds. Today, ECP has more people on the ground than any other firm: more than 70% of its investment professionals, who hail from 12 African countries, operate from 7 local offices. ECP was recently named ‘Best Private Equity House in Africa’ for a second consecutive year by EMEA finance.  ECP is committed to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and in 2010 pledged to operate under the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). ECP’s investments are the most diversified of any African PE firm with impact capital in over 40 African countries.  Sectors include financial services, telecommunications, natural resources, agriculture and infrastructure.

www.ecpinvestments.com
202-280-6200
[email protected]

The Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) is a non-profit seeking association committed to supporting and developing the Private Equity and Venture Capital industry in Egypt and the surrounding region(s). The Association aims to foster private investment in Egypt, as well as to boost communication and knowledge sharing among the region’s private equity and venture capital networks. EPEA seeks to serve as the hub for private equity and venture capital professionals, organizations and stakeholders in Egypt, and be their gateway to the international community and counterparts.  On the local level, EPEA aims to serve the current needs of the local industry in the areas of capacity building, networking and policy advocacy. On the regional and international levels, EPEA is looking forward to contribute to the growth and development of the industry, through assessing potential opportunities and partnering with similar associations. EPEA was founded in 2011 by distinguished founding members, including leading experts as well as major corporate players in the private equity industry on the local and regional levels.

SAVCA (the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association) is the industry body and public policy advocate for private equity and venture capital in South Africa.  SAVCA represents over 70 private equity and venture capital fund managers, the industry has over Rand 106 billion (c. US$ 14 billion) in funds under management with 500 professionals.  SAVCA publishes regular research on the private equity and venture capital industry in Southern African that can be viewed at www.savca.co.za