UAE’s Gulf Capital accelerates investment pace in Egypt and Africa

Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Gulf Capital has announced the opening its office in Cairo to tap more investment opportunities in the fast-growing Egyptian and African markets.

The firm has a new team in place looking into opportunities in the technology, healthcare, business services, consumer and sustainability sectors of the Egyptian economy, to complement Gulf Capital’s existing portfolio of diverse businesses.

Dr Karim El Solh, co-founder and CEO of Gulf Capital, said: “Egypt continues to be an attractive and fast growing market and a major investment destination for our firm and our global investors. Gulf Capital has invested over EGP5bn ($300m) in Egypt over the last decade, across various sectors, including technology, infrastructure, manufacturing, petrochemicals, healthcare, healthtech, business services, and oil and gas services. Opening a local office and hiring a senior Egyptian investment team will allow us to accelerate our investment pace in Egypt in promising sectors such as the digital economy and healthcare and to keep us closer to our existing portfolio companies and business partners. We are particularly excited about potential investments in the fast-growing technology, fintech, ecommerce, and healthtech sectors, as Egypt is becoming a rising star in the global technology scene. Recently, the country was one of Africa’s most robust and active players in the tech ecosystems, with 28.3 per cent of startup investments on the African continent going to Egyptian companies.”

According to the latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Egyptian economy will become the second largest Arab and African economy during 2022. The report indicated that the IMF’s expectations indicate an increase in total revenues as a percentage of gross domestic product to a record 18.6 per cent in 2021-2022.

The IMF projects a robust average annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent for the Egyptian economy over the next five years, the best in the country’s economic history over the last 25 years. The country’s net international reserves increased to a remarkable $41bn as of January, mainly driven by an uptick in Suez Canal activity, tourism, exports, foreign investments and remittances.

Dr El Solh added: “Our long-term commitment to Egypt and the broader Middle Eastern and African regions remains rock-solid. The new office opening in Egypt follows our recent office opening in Singapore last December, allowing Gulf Capital to invest across growth markets from North Africa to Southeast Asia.”

Gulf Capital’s most recent investment was in fintech payment solutions provider, Geidea, and healthtech company, Vezeeta, which was founded by Egyptian entrepreneurs with offices in Dubai, Riyadh and Cairo.