A Dubai-based board member of Standard Chartered is reportedly planning to depart from the London-based bank to launch a private equity fund focused on Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
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Standard Chartered Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas CEO V. Shankar, who is pioneering the fund, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum Africa: "It’s an arc connecting Indonesia to South Africa, very much focused on the South-South flows."
The $750m-$1bn fund will offer late-stage growth capital to emerging market firms looking to break into other emerging or frontier markets, reported the publication.
The fund, which is in its early days, might have a regional office in Singapore to compliment its Dubai base.
Shankar, who spent 14 years at the British bank, said: "The value-add is going to be investing into a company in Indonesia and bringing them into Africa, and vice versa. I don’t intend to do hostile takeovers and buyouts. It’s about working with entrepreneurs in these markets."
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