Emerging Capital Partners

Emerging Capital Partners
Private
Industry Private Equity
Founded 2000
Key people
 Hurley Doddy, Co-CEO
Vincent Le Guennou, Co-CEO
Carolyn Campbell, MD
Mike Jansa, MD
Bryce Fort, MD
Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer
Alex-Handrah Aimé, MD
Ferdinand Ngon, MD
Products Private Equity, Growth capital
Website www.ecpinvestments.com

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) is a Pan-African private equity firm focused on investing across the African continent including Francophone Africa. The firm is the first private equity group to raise over US$2 billion, invested exclusively in African companies.[1] The firm's investors are uncorrelated to the U.S. and other global economies. The firm has invested in approximately 55 companies and has fully exited over 31, achieving an average return of three times its initial investments. In June 2010 it closed ECP Africa Fund III with total commitments of US$613 million, the largest raised fund for growth equity investing across the continent.

History

ECP initially started operating in 2000, as part of EMP Global. Under EMP, ECP gained responsibility of Framlington Investment Management’s two Africa funds, the West Africa Growth Fund and the Central Africa Growth Fund.[2] In 2005, ECP spun out on its own[1] under the leadership of Thomas Gibian, Hurley Doddy, Vincent Le Guennou and Carolyn Campbell.

Since the spin out, ECP has gained the reputation as one of the leading private equity firms focused on the African market.[3] Limited partners in its funds include global institutional investors, such as pension funds and endowments, as well as global institutions like the European Investment Bank, African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.[4]

The firm has offices in Lagos, Nigeria, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tunis, Tunisia, Douala, Cameroon, Casablanca, Morocco, Nairobi, Kenya, Washington, D.C. and Paris, France.[2] It has used this local presence to set up the network and social infrastructure needed to facilitate the collection and interpretation of business information on the continent.

In May 2015, co-CEO Hurley Doddy was named Chair of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association ('AVCA').[5]

Environmental, Social and Governance Practices

In May 2010, ECP signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), which provides a framework for investment professionals who believe Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios and who seek sustainable approaches in the investment process.[6]

In October 2011, ECP became the first private equity firm to sign a co-operation agreement with the IFC to participate in its Private Equity Africa Climate Change Investment Support (PEACCHIS) program. The program, funded by the Norwegian Government, is designed to enhance sustainability best practices in Africa. Through the program, the IFC provides advisory services to private equity fund managers to identify opportunities to improve resource efficiency and generate sustainability-related cost-savings.

Prominent Funds

The firm’s first independent fund – a US$407 million multi-purpose fund named the AIG African Infrastructure Fund – was sponsored by AIG and the International Finance Corporation. The fund’s advisory board included several notable members, such as Nelson Mandela and former African National Congress general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa.[7]

The firm’s second major pan-African fund, ECP Africa Fund II, closed in May 2007 with US$523 million. At the time, it marked the largest private equity fund ever raised for investments across the African continent. Africa Fund II was established to seek majority or minority positions in companies through equity, quasi-equity and convertible debt instruments, with a focus on telecommunications, natural resources, financial services, agribusiness, transportation and utility businesses.[8]

In June 2010, it announced the final close of ECP Africa Fund III at US$613 million, bringing the total capital raised to US$1.8 billion and more than US$1 billion invested.[9]

In an interview with the Financial Times in April 2014, Hurley Doddy said that ECP's funds had returned US$1.1 billion to investors from 29 exits, including a "record listing" in Tunisia for diaper and feminine hygiene company Société d'Articles Hygieniques.[10]

Notable Investments

ECP has secured profitable investments across a variety of industries including utilities infrastructure, agribusiness, financial services, natural resources, telecommunications and transportation.[11] These include:

Recent Select Awards

References

  1. 1 2 "The New Scramble for Africa"; Global Investor Magazine; December 1, 2007
  2. 1 2 "Emerging Capital Partners"; Emerging Private Equity; July–August 2008; pp.16, 18
  3. ↑ "Initiators of Change"; Private Equity International; June 2008, Issue 66
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Hurley Doddy named Chair of AVCA". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment". Investment Managers. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "ECP Closes $523m Private Equity Fund for Africa"; AltAssets; May 25, 2007;
  8. ↑ ECP Website;
  9. ↑ "Emerging Capital Partners closes Africa fund on $613m"; altassets.com; July 26, 2010
  10. ↑ "Private Equity buoyed by deals in less developed African markets"; Financial Times; April 2, 2014
  11. ↑ "ECP Backs Microfinance Lender"; Private Equity International; July–August 2008, Issue 67
  12. ↑ Alexandra Stevenson; "PayTV: Kenya’s next success story?"; Financial Times; May 16, 2011
  13. ↑ African Banker. "2015 Awards Winners". Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Private Equity Africa. "2015 Awards Winners". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  15. ↑ This Is Africa. "Beyond Business Awards Winners". Retrieved 5 August 2013.

External links

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