IBIS Consulting, an emerging market ESG and impact advisory, has expanded its North Africa footprint with the opening of an office in Cairo, Egypt.

This is the company’s fifth branch in Africa in a bid to strengthen its foothold in two key financial hubs in North Africa – Cairo in Egypt and Casablanca in Morocco.

Egypt, and North Africa more broadly, has been an important strategic growth area for IBIS in recent years. Cairo, as a burgeoning financial centre, is where many IBIS clients are based, including DFIs, multi-lateral banks, export credit agencies, PE firms, impact investors and various other financial institutions.

With a more active presence in North Africa and the expertise of seasoned professionals fluent in English, French and Arabic, IBIS is now well placed to support their clients and portfolio investments on the ground.

The Cairo office will be led by Dr Ahmed Zedan, who brings over 15 years of expertise to the business, providing E&S advisory services across sectors including renewable energy, infrastructure, transport, manufacturing and finance.

He has successfully led over 100 E&S projects in Egypt and abroad.

Most recently, he was the managing director of ENVI-SAGE Consulting, a company he founded in 2017.

IBIS recently acquired ENVI-SAGE to enjoy the full benefit of an expert local team.

“As a major player in the finance industry, IBIS was a dream collaborator for ENVI-SAGE”, said Zedan. 

“From the first day we started working together in 2019, it was clear that we were very much aligned in terms of the range of work we both were doing, the types of clients we were advising, the quality of work, our company values and what we wanted to achieve. I was delighted to formalise a strategic alignment between our two businesses through the opportunity to head up and expand IBIS in Egypt,” he added.

IBIS has to date completed numerous projects for DFIs, Private Equity firms, Impact Investors and Banks across nearly all jurisdictions in North Africa and the Middle East.

After working extensively across North Africa for over six years, IBIS has developed deep and textured insights into the constantly evolving legislative requirements, complex socio-political context and diversity of cultures of the region, and its varied and sensitive natural environments.

Jeremy Soboil, CEO, said: “Nowhere is the potential and pace of change more evident than in the Middle East and North Africa, a region that IBIS has developed a thorough understanding of and respect for over many years. Ahmed brings a strong pipeline of opportunities and a portfolio of clients through his existing business, and we look forward to working with him and his team on growth prospects in North Africa along with IBIS’ team based in Casablanca, Morocco.”