30 September 2015
· Tiba is a leading vertically integrated education provider in Egypt, with one university, three academies and three K-12 schools

· Partnership with Dr. Seddik Afifi in a newly formed Education Management Company to support the management of higher education institutions in Egypt

· Partnership marks Abraaj's seventh investment by its second generation North Africa Fund

Cairo, Egypt: The Abraaj Group ('Abraaj' or the 'Group'), a leading investor operating in global growth markets, today announced a partnership, through its second generation North Africa Fund ('ANAF II'), with Tiba Group ('Tiba' or the 'Company'), a leading education service provider in Egypt. Tiba operates across three verticals and through seven educational institutions in Egypt, serving approximately 20,000 students. The Group also announced the formation of an Education Management Company that provides management support services to educational institutions in Egypt.

Founded by Dr. Seddik Afifi in 1990, Tiba has grown from one K-12 school (Thebes School) to cover both the higher education segment through the Thebes Academy chain, and university-level education through Nahda University. Dr Seddik founded his first school in 1981. The Thebes Schools Group caters to children aged three to 18 years and consists of schools offering national education as well as American and British education curricula. The Thebes Academy consists of three academies in Cairo and Giza, offering engineering, computer science, information technology, business management and financial markets courses to approximately 14,000 students with a focus on affordable high quality education. Nahda University was established in 2007 and is the first private university in Upper Egypt, benefiting from a wide catchment area and operating through six faculties with approximately 4,000 enrolled students.

As part of its investment strategy for the Middle East and North Africa region, Abraaj invests in resilient sectors such as education, and Tiba marks Abraaj's second investment in the education sector in Egypt, and its fifth globally. In 2014, Abraaj announced its investment in CIRA, the largest K-12 private schools group in Egypt with over 20 owned and operated schools under the widely recognized 'Future Schools' brand.

The education sector in Egypt is experiencing rising demand, driven by favorable demographics and a growing aspirational population keen to invest in high quality education for their children. Egypt is the most populous nation in the Middle East and North Africa region with a population of 87 million, and as evidenced by its current academic year, there are over 20 million enrolled students nationwide, 18.3 million of whom are in K-12 schools.

Abraaj and Tiba's management team will focus on enhancing its curricula and brand to increase enrolment, upgrading its facilities, and expanding partnerships with potential employers to increase job placements for its University and Academy students.

Commenting on the investment, Ahmed Badreldin, Partner and Regional Head of Middle East and North Africa for The Abraaj Group, said, "Our collaboration with Dr Seddik Afifi and Tiba represents a unique partnership with Egypt's leading education group who share our vision of providing high quality, relevant and accessible education to a growing student body in Egypt. We look forward to applying our global experience in the education sector to expand the company into new markets and augment quality and educational standards for the benefit of students, faculty and parents."

Dr. Seddik Afifi, Founder of Tiba Group, commented, "Affordable, accessible and high quality education should be the right of every child as it is the single greatest catalyst to growth and holistic development. The Tiba Group has been single minded in the achievement of this goal for the past 25 years and today we are delighted to announce our partnership with Abraaj who share our vision for excellence in education.  We are confident that their sector experience, global platform and unique operating skills will enhance our offerings and enable us to offer a greater value proposition to our students."

Mohamed El Rashidi, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Education Management Company, commented, "We believe this is an opportune time to develop the education sector in Egypt. With enrolment rates steadily increasing year-on-year in all verticals across the sector, the opportunity to enhance the quality of education, and ultimately cultivating the necessary skills for Egyptian jobs and careers, is immense."

Abraaj has helped pioneer the development of the private equity industry in North Africa and has been investing in the region since 2006, with 96% of its investments in the region sourced by its local teams. In Cairo, Abraaj has three investments, namely the North Africa Hospital Holdings Group, technology solutions provider OMS, and leading education group CIRA.

Ends

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For more information please contact:
Mitali Atal
Director - Communications
The Abraaj Group
T: + 971 (0)4 5064588
E: mitali.atal@abraaj.com
Grace
Chaoui
Finsbury
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About The Abraaj Group
The Abraaj Group ("Abraaj" or "the Group") is a leading private equity investor, purpose-built for operating in the growth markets of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Turkey.

Employing over 300 people, Abraaj has over 20 offices spread across five regions with hubs in Dubai, Istanbul, Mexico City, Nairobi and Singapore. The Group currently manages c. US$ 9 billion across regional, sector and country-specific Funds.

Abraaj has realized c. US$ 5.1 billion from over 70 full and partial exits, and Funds managed by the Group have made over 140 investments across 10 sectors including consumer, energy, financials, healthcare and utilities. The Group is committed to the highest environmental, stakeholder engagement and corporate governance standards and is a signatory to the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and the United Nations Global Compact. Abraaj's founder, Arif Naqvi, was appointed to the United Nations Global Compact Board by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012 and to the Interpol Foundation Board in 2014.

This publication is issued by Abraaj Capital Limited ("ACLD" or the "Firm"), a member of The Abraaj Group that is authorised and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority ("DFSA"). Several Group members are regulated by a number of international regulatory authorities including the DFSA under whose rules ACLD has issued this publication.

© Press Release 2015