Five months after its first commitment in Morocco, Amethis Mena Fund II (AMF II) announces a fundraising of €85 million for growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.
Amethis’ fundraising aims to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a strong economic, social and environmental impact. Amethis will reinvest the funds in SMEs based in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan. Amethis Mena Fund II (AMF II) is the second North African investment fund launched by Amethis this year. The fund will be managed by Wilfried Poyet, Adnane Zerhouni and Toufic Khoueiry who have already operated in the region’s main markets. The company has already committed to financing solar micro-irrigation in March 2021 in Morocco.
For this financial mobilisation, Amethis has received investments from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Proparco via FISEA+, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s subsidiary. Several private investors are contributing to the €85 million fund. This is the case of the Edmond de Rothschild group, which accounts for a third of the commitments.
A responsible investment
Through this fundraising, Amethis wants to adopt a responsible approach by promoting international standards in environmental and societal management. The company is committed to promoting these principles for responsible investment in North Africa. The investment fund manager is convinced that economic growth and a healthy environment go hand in hand. With this in mind, Amethis is investing in irrigation using solar energy.
For Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey, co-founders of Amethis, “the launch of AMF II is an important step for Amethis which builds on our strong presence in Morocco and our current strategy of supporting entrepreneurs in Africa. Amethis strongly believes in investing in SMEs, and AMF II is the third SME vehicle managed by Amethis, alongside its pan-African mid-cap funds.
Habib Tizi (intern)
