SME
 
Tom Speechley
Senior Partner, Abraaj Capital, Chief Executive Officer, Riyada Enterprise Development, CIO, Kantara Fund
Tom Speechley
Senior Partner, Abraaj Capital, Chief Executive Officer, Riyada Enterprise Development, CIO, Kantara Fund
Tom Speechley is a Senior Partner of Abraaj Capital and the Chief Executive Officer of Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), Abraaj’s small and medium enterprise (SME) investment platform. He joined Abraaj Capital in 2006 and is a member of the Abraaj Holdings Board of Directors, as well as the group’s Executive and Investment Committees.

Mr. Speechley is responsible for the firm’s SME investment program including the RED and Kantara Funds totaling some US$ 650 million of capital through which he has overseen several investments in various sectors and countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mr. Speechley has more than 15 years experience in the private equity industry in Europe, the US and the MENA region. He was responsible for creating and launching 'wamda.com', Abraaj Capital’s on-line portal dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs across the MENA region and speaks and writes frequently on the topic of entrepreneurship.

He sits on the ‘Fostering Entrepreneurship’ Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. Mr. Speechley has also authored two books on acquisition finance. He lives in Dubai.
Fabrice Callet
Principal, MD - Kantara Fund
Kantara Investments
Fabrice Callet
Principal, MD - Kantara Fund
Kantara Investments
Mr.Callet is a member of the investment team of RED, and serves as a Managing Director responsible for overseeing the Kantara North Africa platform . He joined RED  in 2011 upon Abraaj’s acquisition of the Kantara fund. 
 
Prior to joining Kantara, Mr. Callet worked for SGAM (Societe Generale) as an equity analyst and joined SGAM Private Equity in 1999. In 2001, he managed the turnaround fund department with two private equity funds in Romania and Baltic Countries and in  2002 became the Managing Partner of all Emerging Markets Funds for SGAM Private Equity. He successfully raised two funds: a 150 million Euro fund for Eastern Europe and a 150 million Euro fund for North Africa (Kantara).
 
Mr.Callet holds two Masters degrees in corporate finance, banking and financial markets.
Rafik Dalala
Principal, Cairo
Kantara Investments
Rafik Dalala
Principal, Cairo
Kantara Investments
Mr. Rafik Dalala is a member of the investment team of RED, focused on the Kantara North Africa platform. He joined RED in 2011 upon Abraaj Capital’s acquisition of the Kantara fund. He is based in Egypt.

Mr. Dalala was part of the team that oversaw the establishment and launch of the Cairo office for the Kantara Fund. Prior to joining Kantara, Mr. Dalala has had exposure to both the equity buy side, as a manager of a listed equity fund, and the sell side where he co-founded Intercap Partners in 2001 to provide investment banking services to mid-cap private market companies in Canada. This was followed in 2006 by the establishment of a joint venture to provide similar services to companies in the Middle East with operations in Egypt and the UAE. As a Partner and Head of Investment Banking with these firms, he managed a group of bankers and led and executed several transactions in the resource industries, food and beverage, manufacturing and technology.

Prior to his involvement in the financial services industry, Mr. Dalala spent 12+ years as an industry professional where his track record includes corporate line management experience with two multinationals in the industrial field, strategic planning with a major oil company, and a founder and partner in three new business ventures.

Mr. Dalala holds an MBA in Finance from McGill University and a BSc. degree in Chemical Engineering (with honors) from Cairo University. He is a Chartered Business Valuator with professional accreditation to practice in Canada and the United States.
Adel Goucha
Principal, Tunis
Kantara Investments
Adel Goucha
Principal, Tunis
Kantara Investments
Mr. Adel Goucha is a member of the investment team of RED, focused on the Kantara North Africa platform. He joined RED in 2011 upon Abraaj Capital’s acquisition of the Kantara Fund. He is based in Tunisia.
 
Mr. Goucha has served as an Investment Director with the Kantara Fund since 2007. In this capacity, Mr. Goucha closed two deals in the pharmaceutical sector: Opalia pharma, a fast growing generic drugs maker with best in class production facility and growing market share in the Tunisian market, and Unimed Pharma, a generics maker specialized in sterile forms such as injectables and eye drops. Unimed Pharma is a major player in the sterile products segment in North Africa.
 
Prior to working with Kantara, Mr. Goucha was the Head of the MENA coverage team at NATEXIS PRAMEX INTERNATIONAL, a subsidiary of Groupe Natexis Banques Populaires between 2002 and 2007. Mr. Goucha also worked in sales for PRUDENTIAL BACHE SECURITIES between May 1997 and December 1998.
 
Mr. Goucha holds a Masters Degree in Economics and International Finance from the University of Paris Dauphine and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Institut des Hautes Etudes Commerciales at Carthage, Tunisia.
 
Anas Guennoun
Principal, Casablanca
Kantara Investments
Anas Guennoun
Principal, Casablanca
Kantara Investments
Mr. Anas Guennoun is a member of the investment team of RED, focused on the Kantara North Africa platform. He joined RED in 2011 upon Abraaj Capital’s acquisition of the Kantara Fund. He is based in Morocco.
 
Mr. Guennoun joined Kantara in 2005 and is responsible for sourcing and executing deals in Morocco. Previously, he worked in the M&A department of Société Générale in Paris in 2000 and was involved in various deals, mainly in the automobile, media and retail sectors. Mr. Guennoun was in charge of valuation, modeling, processes and due diligence management as well as relationships with clients and other advisors. He has specialized in LBO deals since 2003 and advised a number of large French financial sponsors.
 
Mr. Guennoun holds a Master of Science degree in Finance from Paris Dauphine University in France. 
Alexandre Hamadouche
Principal, Algiers/Tunis
Kantara Investments
Alexandre Hamadouche
Principal, Algiers/Tunis
Kantara Investments
Mr. Alexandre Hamadouche is a member of the investment team of RED, focused on the Kantara North Africa platform. He joined RED in 2011 upon Abraaj Capital’s acquisition of the Kantara Fund. He is based in Algeria.

At Kantara, Mr. Hamadouche was focused on the North African market where he executed the Gallus Group transaction in the agribusiness sector and managed related portfolio companies. Prior to joining Kantara, Mr. Hamadouche  worked for Swicorp private equity funds, where he participated in executing different transactions across the MENA region in the energy, financial services, aviation and transportation sectors, as well as raising debt and evaluating other build-up and LBO investment opportunities.

Mr. Hamadouche started his private equity career within Banexi Capital Partners, a BNP Paribas SME private equity arm and a leading French private equity firm focused on mid cap French companies, where he participated in evaluating investment opportunities, execution and portfolio management efforts.

Mr. Hamadouche holds an engineering degree, Master of Science in Telecommunications from the Paris High Institute of Electronics (ISEP) and a Master of Science in Financial Engineering and Corporate Finance from the E.M. Lyon Business School in France.