EAEF looking to create “parallel fund” for Egypt

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) is working to “facilitate the entry of other institutional investors into the Egyptian market by developing a ‘parallel fund’ that could invest alongside the EAEF,” according to an emailed statement. Saying its size of USD 300 mn is not enough to address all investment opportunities, the EAEF hopes the parallel fund will attract new capital, thereby “unlocking [the] true value in supporting the Middle East.” The fund will be marketed to private-sector investments and sovereign wealth funds without any U.S. government financing. The EAEF invested last year in both Fawry (where it acquired a majority stake as part of a consortium of other global investors including Helios and the MENA Long-Term Value Fund) and Sarwa Capital. The news is contained in EAEF Chairman James Harmon's annual letter, which we think is worth reading in full (pdf).