Amethis Mena Fund raises US$100m to finance small and medium-sized enterprises

MOROCCO – Amethis Mena Fund II (AMF II), a fund by investment fund manager Amethis, has announces a fundraising of US$100.81 million for growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, five months after its first commitment in Morocco.

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.

“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,” Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey, co-founders of Amethis, said.

“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.”

Several private investors are contributing to the US$100.81 million fund. This is the case of the Edmond de Rothschild group, which accounts for a third of the commitments.

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.