ECP Private Equity - Emerging Capital Partners

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27-Apr-2009



WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 27, 2009 – Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), an international private equity firm focused on investing across the African continent, announced today that it has acquired a significant minority stake in Finaccess Group a Moroccan data and information services company that provides business process outsourcing and call center services to European clients.  The company also provides financial data and business reliance information to local companies.  ECP's investment will fund Finaccess' local and regional growth.

"ECP believes that Finaccess occupies an interesting, high-growth position in the market," said Vincent Le Guennou, executive vice president of ECP.  "French companies are increasingly moving toward business outsourcing models and often turn to Morocco because of the country's language and cost advantages.  In addition, the Moroccan market is evolving toward western standards in terms of data availability and reliability, which further increases demand for Finaccess' services."

While France has traditionally lagged behind other western countries in terms of business outsourcing, the country started to accelerate its adoption about three years ago.  Businesses that have shifted to French-speaking areas of North Africa are from a variety of industries – such as telecommunications, market research, tourism, non-governmental organizations and administrations – which reduces the risk of a dramatic shift in demand linked to a specific sector.

In addition to growth from Morocco and Europe, Finaccess has identified substantial expansion opportunities in nearby countries such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where financial markets are experiencing strong growth.  Funds from ECP's investment partially will be used to create a subsidiary in Dubai that targets Gulf-based financial markets.  The region has posted high growth rates and increasing economic stability, which are favorable for Finaccess' expansion. 

Finaccess was founded in 1997 is led by Oussama Elayoubi and Khalid Ayouch, two well-known Moroccan entrepreneurs with experience from world-class derivatives trading floors in France.  It currently operates through three main subsidiaries: Phoneo, a business outsourcing and call center; Fininfo MENA, a financial market data and software provider; and Inforisk, a provider of corporate database solutions.  Together these subsidiaries employ more than 500 people. 

"Finaccess has succeeded by providing world-class service to niche markets," said Mehdi Dazi, a managing director at ECP.  "We expect that the company will continue to grow by offering high-value-added services to domestic and international clients and by further diversifying the sectors it serves." 

Finaccess marks ECP's fourth investment in Morocco, where the firm has invested in the utilities, agribusiness, and mining sectors.  The investment was made through ECP's MENA Growth Fund LLC, which was established in September 2007 to capitalize on investment opportunities throughout the Middle East and North Africa.  The fund has invested in a range of sectors including food processing, financial services, retail and distribution.


ABOUT ECP
Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) is the first private equity firm to raise more than $1.6 billion to invest in companies across the African continent.  The ECP team has an nine-year track record of pan-African investing.  The firm's investment strategy is focused on delivering consistently above-market returns to investors that are uncorrelated to the U.S. and other global economies.  For more information, please see www.ecpinvestments.com.


CONTACT
Jennifer Gill, FD for ECP
213-452-6458
jennifer.gill@fd.com