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Thursday, 16 September 2021

Lighthouse Education weeks away from EGP 500 mn first close

Education investment fund Lighthouse Education is only weeks away from its first close of EGP 500 mn, Lighthouse Managing Director Mohamed El Sherif tells Enterprise.

United Bank joins the fray: El Sherif was speaking to us a day after the United Bank of Egypt announced (pdf) that it would contribute EGP 50 mn to the fund, joining founding partners the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), Misr Ins. Holding Company, Banque Misr, and the Suez Canal Bank.

United’s contribution brings the platform’s total commitments that we know of to EGP 425 mn, but El Sherif tells us that other private sector investors are on board, taking it closer to the EGP 500 mn target. He declined to disclose the identities of the investors. MIH and its subsidiaries contributed EGP 125 mn to its initial paid-in capital, the SFE and Banque Misr EGP 100 mn each, and Suez Canal Bank EGP 50 mn, MIH Chairman Basel El Hini told us in July, soon after the fund was announced.

About Lighthouse: Announced in July, Lighthouse Education was set up as a joint-stock company designed to channel investment into K12 private schools. It will start off by investing in 10-12 schools, focusing initially on Cairo and Giza before turning its attention to other areas of the country such as Alexandria, Beni Suef, Assiut, Port Said, Gharbia, and Qalyubia. It hopes to eventually increase its capital to EGP 1.75 bn.

The platform is aiming to reach its second close before the end of 2022, according to the statement. Under the new partnership agreement, the platform will be managed under the supervision of Al Orman schools founder Hossam El Kabbany along with and privately-owned financial advisor Ironwood Investments, and Banque Misr’s investment arm Misr Capital.

Advisors: Beltone Financial Holding was the financial advisor while Matouk Bassiouny law firm was the legal advisor to Lighthouse. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt tapped Renaissance Capital as its financial advisor and Baker Mckenzie as its legal advisor, and Al Kamel Law Firm was Banque Misr and Misr Capital’s legal advisor.

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