The ECP team has developed and refined an approach toward private equity investing that delivers superior returns to investors and is uniquely suited to Africa. The approach leverages the advantages inherent in the size as well as the depth and accumulated experience of the ECP team to ensure successful maximization of the continent's promising investment opportunities. The key elements of the ECP investment approach include the following: Deal Flow Generation. ECP has developed an extensive deal generation capacity by operating out of eight geographically dispersed offices to ensure complete coverage of both potential target companies and investment partners. Our extensive network across the region includes senior level contacts with local and multinational corporations conducting business in the region, financial institutions involved with raising capital for businesses in the region as well as industry experts and governmental leaders. We also undertake a top-down analysis of attractive sectors within the Continent which are poised for expansion and seek out individual companies with attractive growth, profitability and exit potential. In addition to our presence throughout Africa, ECP routinely receives business plans, proposals and notices from entrepreneurs, intermediaries, such as investment banks and financial advisors, and government agencies. These relationships make ECP a natural choice for companies seeking to expand into new markets with the support of a responsible and experienced financial investor. Investment Selection. ECP selects investments by applying well tested investment models. We focus on companies that have strong growth prospects, with a special emphasis on sectors where Africa has a competitive advantage. The ECP team evaluates opportunities across the entire African continent and thus avoids the dangers inherent in limiting the focus of an entire fund to a single country or a relatively small geographical region. Generally, ECP's investments are structured as significant majority positions involving strong contractual rights or in minority positions, usually alongside one or more other financial and/or strategic investors. Beginning at the deal selection stage, we focus on investments involving significant barriers to entry, investments having a clear strategic relevance to a particular country or region, or investments having some other proven competitive advantage. Furthermore, we seek to invest with reputable local and world-class strategic partners. Partnering with local companies or entrepreneurs provides knowledge of local and regional markets while multinational companies can help assure competent management as well as transactional and operational transparency and provide valuable knowledge of world markets. Investment Process. We believe that an important feature which differentiates private equity investing in Africa from that in more developed markets is the relatively long period afforded to the investor to complete due diligence and optimize deal structuring. We have tailored our investment approach to take full advantage of this pre-investment period by spending a greater amount of time investigating potential opportunities than is typical in the private equity industry. During this lengthy investigatory process, the team is able to undertake rigorous due diligence while simultaneously tracking a company's performance against its business plan over an extended period. During this time, the ECP team is also able to build close relationships with management giving valuable insights into the strength of the teams. The result: increased visibility into short to medium term business projections, measurable mitigation of risk and post-investment surprises through close involvement prior to commitment and a reduced time period from date of investment to date of exit. Ongoing Contribution. Registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, ECP upholds a culture of accountibility, good governance, and innovation. Once invested, ECP employs a pro-active, hands-on approach that seeks to add value to its investments in numerous ways beyond simply providing investment funds. Examples of these activities include working with management teams to revamp company reporting using international standards and creating management incentive programs. Furthermore, exit considerations play a key role in both deal selection and negotiation of terms, and ECP retains this unrelenting focus on liquidity during the entire life of an investment. |