150 million US-dollars for equity capital in Africa

• DEG commits 12.8 million US-dollars to Africa Joint Investment Fund
• Signing ceremony on the occasion of the visit of Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel to Egypt
  

Africa is a continent on the move: the political and economic framework conditions have taken a positive development. There is, however, a lack of capital for private investments. This is why DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, takes an equity participation to the amount of 12.8 million US-dollars in Africa Joint Investment Fund (AJIF). "Our commitment as an anchor investor contributes to providing urgently required capital for private investment in Africa, said Dr Michael Bornmann, member of DEG's Board of Management, on the occasion of the signing ceremony, which took place during the visit of Dirk Niebel, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development to Egypt.

The Fund is established by Citadel Capital S.A.E. (Citadel), a leading private equity firm in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). AJIF will invest in fast-growing regional enterprises in both North Africa and selected regions of sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on industries such as agribusiness, logistics, manufacturing and financial services. The financed companies will create employment, generate governmental revenues and boost good corporate governance as well as high environmental and social standards.

The DEG investment is part of the first closing with a Fund volume of more than 85 million US-dollars. On the whole, AJIF strives for a target size of 150 million US-dollars. The Fund is managed by Citadel Capital Africa Joint Fund Management S.A.

The investment into AJIF was already the second DEG commitment in Egypt during the visit of Federal Minister Dirk Niebel. Shortly before, DEG had provided the German film producer RKW SE (RKW) with a long-term loan for the set-up of its production in Egypt. In this project, RKW is for the first time committed as a sole shareholder in a developing country. In 2009, DEG also financed a German-Egyptian joint venture of SIAT AG, a medium-sized steel construction holding with the principal business fields of plant engineering and steel construction as well as wind power technology. The joint venture, which was also on the agenda of Federal Minister Niebel's visit, aims at producing steel towers for windparks at the Red Sea.