The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) announced that it has increased its investments in the Egyptian market to nearly $100m on Monday in a semi-annual letter to its shareholders.
In 2015, EAEF invested $76m into two new financial service companies, Fawry and Sarwa Capital. Both companies seek to increase access to financial services and bank involvement with the Egyptian public and have shown impressive growth and success.
Besides the introduction of new financial products, EAEF improved corporate governance, enhanced operation frameworks, established skilled management teams, and received additional capital from international investors like USAID to support the growth and improvement of companies despite the difficult economic climate.
Smart Care is one company, which has received an initial investment of $1.2m in hopes of utilising technology and innovation to extend affordable health care. The investment combined with a network of expertise in the US health care sector allows founder Amr El-Tayeb to gain the resources necessary to help develop his business.
Export promoter Tanmiyah Ventures and technology integrator Algebra Ventures each have received $10m for similar operations.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairperson of the MENA subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, stated that EAEF “is an example of how much the US wants to help Egypt, as both an ally and a strong supporter of peace”. The statement came during remarks at a subcommittee hearing, entitled “Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy”.
EAEF targets sectors that are capable of creating employment opportunities and social values for Egyptians, such as manufacturing, logistics, food and beverage, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services, which have high potential for growth.
