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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
September 11, 2024                  

INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM ACQUIRES MICROFINANCE PLAYER TAMWEELY FROM EGYPTIAN STATE ENTITIES

NEW YORK, NY—The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (“EAEF”) announced that its investment partner Tanmiya Capital Ventures (“TCV”) has acquired a stake in leading microfinance player, Tamweely, in an international consortium that includes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the UK government’s British International Investment and regional private equity firm, SPE Capital.

The consortium will acquire 100 percent of the company’s shares from state-run Ayadi for Investment & Development, Post for Investment—the investment arm of the National Postal Authority and the National Investment Bank’s investment arm, NI Capital. The deal is valued at over 2.5 billion EGP, equivalent to over $50 million. The investment represents a significant step in the Egyptian government’s privatization agenda to attract foreign and local investment through the sale of state-owned companies and to boost the role of the private sector in the economy.

Tamweely is one of Egypt’s leading non-bank financial services companies that offer microfinancing to individuals and small businesses, an underserved segment of the economy. In Egypt, 98 percent of all private enterprises are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”) according to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the official statistical agency. To date, Tamweely has served more than 500,000 clients and today operates 230 branches with 3,950 loan officers across 24 of Egypt’s 27 governorates.

James Harmon, EAEF’s Chairman noted, “We are pleased to join the international consortium that has acquired Tamweely, one of Egypt’s leading microfinance players with the help of our investment partner, TCV. Tamweely will help increase access to financing for Egyptian MSMEs and strengthen financial inclusion, a key part of our mandate. We are equally pleased to support the government’s privatization plan and are hopeful this will create additional momentum for the state asset divestment program and pave the way for a bigger role for the private sector in the coming period.”

Mohamed Mahgoub, TCV’s Managing Partner, commented, “Tamweely represents an exciting opportunity to invest in a fast-growing microfinance player. The company will improve financial inclusion by extending microfinancing to underserved Egyptians, including women-led businesses, who traditionally cannot access lending from banks.”

The consortium will partner with CEO and Managing Director, Ahmed Khorched and Tamweely’s management, with their strong track record, on scaling up the company’s infrastructure, organization and operations, and further expanding the company’s suite of products to serve Egypt’s unbanked and underserved populations.

The transaction was announced during a signing ceremony attended by H.E. Dr Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation and H.E. Eng. Hassan ElKhatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, along with representatives from the private sector, the business community, and international partners.

–ENDS–

Press Contact:
Cornelius Queen
cqueen@eaefund.org

About the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund is a private investment fund established by the U.S. Congress in 2011 to support Egypt’s private sector after the country’s revolution. EAEF’s mandate is to stimulate private sector development by providing access to capital and introducing commercial business practices to Egyptian companies. It does this primarily by working through first-time, Egyptian fund managers. To date, EAEF and its fund managers have invested in over 130 companies that today support 55,000 jobs. The estimated market value of EAEF’s assets is $500 million, in comparison to its $300 million Congressional funding.

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund is a U.S. government-funded private entity. Since the inception of the Enterprise Fund Program, over $1.1 billion has been invested directly alongside $6.9 billion of private capital. Enterprise funds were introduced by the first Bush administration in the early 1990s to help countries in Eastern and Central Europe, and Central Asia, transition from state-planned to market economies after the collapse of the Soviet Union. President Obama reintroduced the concept in 2011 after the Arab Spring uprisings.

The enterprise fund is led by an independent board of directors composed of private Egyptian and American citizens as prescribed by the U.S. Congress.

USAID oversees the enterprise fund and administers the U.S. foreign assistance program, providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

The contents of this press release are the responsibility of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Further details on EAEF can be found at https://www.eaefund.org.

About TCV

TCV is a leading growth-equity fund focused on transforming family businesses into institutional companies. In addition to Tamweely, TCV has made six investments in Egypt, including in Tamweel, Egypt’s leading non-bank mortgage finance player and Abu Auf, a popular healthy foods company. Earlier this year, TCV successfully exited its investment in Abu Auf in a private sale to the United Arab Emirates food and beverages group, Agthia.

EAEF has been a long-time partner of TCV, seeding its first fund in 2017, and committing $50 million to TCV’s Fund II in December 2023. Further details on EAEF can be found at http://www.tcvegypt.com.

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