Abraaj closes North Africa fund

24 August 2015

Investments raised surpass targets

  • Dubai’s Abraaj Group closes $375m North Africa fund
  • It will target medium-sized businesses in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
  • Development banks are among the key investors

Dubai-based Abraaj Group has closed a second North Africa fund (ANAF 2), with a value of $375m.

The fund will target well-managed mid-market businesses in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, with investments of $15m-$25m each.

The investment is well above the original target of $250m-$300m.

The fund has already made six investments in the region, including the $200m North Africa Hospitals Holding Group (NAHHG). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) contributed $25m towards that investment, while Germany’s DEG and France’s Proparco provided $15m each, and Abraaj Group, with $145m, was the main investor. NAHHG owns four hospitals in Egypt and Tunisia.

ANAF 2 focuses on sectors supported by a growing middle class, including healthcare, education, consumer goods and services, business services, materials, and logistics. It has a similar profile to Abraaj’s previous North Africa fund.

Investors in ANAF 2 include global institutional investors, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and development finance institutions:

  • Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets – $10m
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC; part of the Washington-based World Bank group) – $20m
  • European Investment Bank – €20m ($23m)
  • Proparco – $102m
  • EBRD – $25m
  • DEG – (unspecified)

It has been reported that 63 per cent of the capital committed to the ANAF II has come from European and North American investors, with institutional investors, pension funds and development finance institutions accounting for 86 per cent of the committed capital.

Abraaj is currently managing about $9bn in investments globally. These include the recently closed $990m sub-Saharan Africa fund and a Latin American and Caribbean partnership.  

Abraaj also invested $30m in the Auvest Middle East North Africa South Asia fund as a cornerstone investor. The fund aims to raise $250m-$300m to invest in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

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