Emerging Capital Partners, a private equity group focused on Africa, has appointed former World Bank executive Marie-France Mathes as managing director and head of investor relations.
Mathes will lead efforts to strengthen communications with ECP limited partners.
The firm looks toward a range of potential acquisitions from its third USD613m pan-African fund, the largest private equity fund ever raised for growth equity investing across Africa. ECP also expects to exit a number of current investments made from prior funds.
"This appointment highlights ECP’s unequivocal commitment to communicating with investors," says Hurley Doddy, co-chief executive of ECP. "Marie-France is a private equity veteran with an impeccable record within the industry. We are delighted to have her join the senior ECP team."
Mathes will coordinate investor relations for ECP’s investor base, which now includes sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds, family offices and African pension funds. She will be based in Washington D.C., coordinating information management within ECP, the ECP funds and ECP portfolio companies across Africa.
"This is an extremely exciting time to join the pre-eminent private equity firm for investing in Africa, especially as the continent rises to become the next great emerging market," says Mathes. "Opportunities for ECP and its investors are abundant as Africa’s consumer markets and intra-regional trade develop in tandem with its natural resources and export-led growth."
Mathes served as a managing director with Macon PE, an emerging markets private equity advisory firm, and chairperson and member of the investment committee with CAM-NewMarkets, a fund of funds, both of which she co-founded.
Earlier in her career, she served as a senior investment officer with the International Financial Corporation, the World Bank’s investment banking arm.
Before joining the IFC, Mathes worked for Baring Private Equity Partners and Banque Paribas Capital Markets.