Standard Chartered Private Equity invests in the digital future of Africa & Middle East
Standard Chartered Private Equity (" SCPE") has recently invested in a number of players in the e-commerce and mobile sectors in Africa and the Middle East as the firm finds development opportunities in innovative industries. Previously in 2012, SCPE made a US$ 50 million investment in leading e-commerce website souq.com, and last year was part of a US$ 400 million consortium that bought Eaton Towers, a leading independent telecom tower business in Africa. These 2 offers are unified by their significance to a significantly digital customer in a world that is developing at a quick pace.
Africa is the world's fastest growing telecom market and mobile innovation in Africa has actually leapfrogged landlines and other innovations, notably facilitating advances in the payments space. Likewise, Souq.com's leading position in the e-commerce market in the Middle East demonstrates the shift of consumers to an online ecosystem-- with all the efficiencies and advantages that has it.
Taimoor Labib, Regional Head of MENA Private Equity & Head of Global Private Equity Portfolio Management at SCPE, stated: "Tech-savvy millennials are accustomed to mobile and online innovation that integrate effortlessly with their lives, so the opportunity to purchase these industries is an exciting one. The e-commerce market has incredible capacity and is changing the way that we interact with brand names. Through investments such as the ones we have actually made in Souq.com and Eaton Towers we can be at the forefront of a genuine change in consumer behavior in Africa and the Middle East.".
Peter Baird, Head of Africa Private Equity at SCPE, said: "Eaton Towers is a world-class telecommunications infrastructure company, making it possible for cell-phone connectivity for more than 100 million Africans across six nations. SCPE is pleased to be supporting Eaton in the next phase of its development.".
SCPE has also been honoured at the emeafinance 2015 Achievement Awards which occurred in London on 9 June, winning finest private equity financial investment in the Middle East for its financial investment in FINE, the Middle East's leading brand in sanitary paper items, and best private equity financial investment in Africa for its investment in Eaton Towers. SCPE also thrived in emeafinance's flagship award category, Best Private Equity House in EMEA.
SCPE is the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank. SCPE invests in companies in need of growth capital and buyouts. SCPE focuses on companies whose principal operations and management are located in Asia, Africa or the Middle East. It is an active partner that provides board-level strategic advice and access to the international network of Standard Chartered Bank. Since inception in 2002, SCPE has invested in excess of US $7 billion in over 100 companies across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
