Ezdehar plans to invest $50mln in Egyptian companies by year-end

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Egypt - Ezdehar, a private equity firm that focuses on mid-cap companies in Egypt, is looking to invest $40m to $50m in two or three companies in the manufacturing and retail sectors by the end of this year, according to its Managing Director Emad Barsoum.

Barsoum told Daily News Egypt that the new investments will be made through the Ezdehar 2 fund, which closed its first round in August 2022 with $168m. The fund received contributions from several institutions, such as the International Finance Corporation, the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries.

The Ezdehar 2 fund has already acquired an estimated 60% stake in Zahran Market, a leading supermarket chain in Egypt, in August 2022. Barsoum said that the fund targets companies with strong growth potential and social impact.

As for the Ezdehar 1 fund, which has a portfolio of five companies, Barsoum said that no exits are planned for this year, and the first exits will take place in early 2024. He added that two of the companies will be exited through an initial public offering on the stock market at the end of next year.

Barsoum also revealed that the company will launch a new fund for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a target size of EGP 1-2bn. He said that the company will start promoting the fund among local and international institutions and banks within two weeks. He added that the fund aims to support SMEs, especially in light of the current circumstances, and to benefit from the Central Bank’s initiative to allocate 25% of the credit facilities to finance SMEs.