EMP Africa's West Africa fund reaches milestone

EMP Africa announces its West Africa fund hits significant milestone and is on track to double investor capital 

Washington D.C., November 3 2006 EMP Africa Management LP (EMP Africa) announced today that as of September 30, 2006 one of the Africa focused private equity funds it manages, the West Africa Growth Sicar ("WAGS"), had returned over 100% of shareholders invested capital with five remaining positions to sell. The continued strong performance of WAGS further solidifies EMP Africa's position as a leading private equity investor in Africa with a demonstrated track record of success.

WAGS is a 10-year closed-end private equity fund, organized under the laws of the Luxembourg as a 'Socit d'Investissement Capital Risque.' Launched in 1997 with total commitments of $28 million, WAGS targets small and medium sized enterprises in the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Fully invested, the Funds portfolio comprised nine investments in equity and quasi equity instruments spanning a diversified array of sectors including telecom, oil & gas, financial services and consumer goods. Daily portfolio monitoring and investment supervision is conducted through EMP Africas Abidjan office. The Funds lead investors include the IFC, Proparco, the investment arm of the French Development Agency, Denmarks Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and SWEDFUND International AB.

With the most recent distribution in September 2006, WAGS has returned about $31 million to its shareholders to date. The Fund has invested in numerous success stories such as Senegalese telecom company Sonatel and Togo-based regional bank Ecobank Transnational, which recently listed on the Nigerian and Ghanaian stock exchanges. Despite political strife in Cote d'Ivoire, a core market for the Fund and the region's second largest economy, WAGS is on track to double its invested capital. The success of the Fund thus far demonstrates EMP Africa's ability to identify, structure and exit successful investments while effectively managing risk.

Vincent Le Guennou, Executive Vice President of EMP Africa said:

"We are delighted with the value we have created for our investors thus far. We believe that the performance of WAGS to date, when taken together with our other funds, underscores our ability to consistently deliver attractive returns in this dynamic region."

"We will continue to leverage our expertise and understanding of the region to add value to the remaining investments and seek further exits that will result in attractive returns to our investors."