Amethis has announced the appointment of two new Partners, Khady Koné-Dicoh and Jean-Thomas Lopez, bringing the number of Partners in the firm to six.

Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey, said: “Amethis strengthens his senior team with these nominations, with the continuous objective of building a leading investor and partner for African corporates. Khady and Jean-Thomas, who joined the firm in 2013 and 2012, have been instrumental in the creation and development of Amethis over the past decade. Together with their fellow partners and the whole Amethis team, they will take an even more important role in our ambitious projects for the coming years, always serving our community of investors and partner companies”.

Koné-Dicoh has 15 years of African private equity and investment banking experience.

She joined Amethis eight years ago and led five investments and divestments for the company including investment and exit from the largest supermarket chain in Côte d’Ivoire, CDCI; investment in the leading LPG bottles distributor in Burkina Faso, Sodigaz; investment in the one-stop shop logistics company, Velogic; and investment in the hospitality and leisure company in Mauritius, VLH. She particularly covers West and Southern Africa for Amethis.

Prior to joining Amethis, Koné-Dicoh was manager in Société Générale’s mergers and acquisitions team.

Over seven years, she advised many transactions in the telecom, health, FMCG and hospitality sectors across Europe Middle East and Africa for both strategic players and private equity funds.

Koné-Dicoh holds a Master of Science in Management from EM Lyon Business School and a master’s degree in business law from Lyon III University.

She is also an alumna of London Business School.

Koné-Dicoh said: “I am proud of what Amethis has successfully achieved from its creation to today and I felt privileged to have been part of this journey right at the beginning. I am honored at my election and I am eager to contribute to Amethis development in Africa. We have a unique opportunity to support the development of growing African companies led by talented entrepreneurs and corollary to positively impact the rising African continent”.

Jean-Thomas Lopez is responsible for portfolio management of the four Amethis vehicles and is also engaged in the direct supervision of some deals. He also supervises Amethis regulated Luxembourg Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM).

He joined Amethis nine years ago and led three investments and divestments for the company including investment and exit from the leading oil & gas distribution company in Ivory Coast, Petro Ivoire; the biggest operator in the healthcare sector in Ivory Coast, Novamed; and a leading equipment distributor in Morocco (agriculture, construction, mining & quarrying and industry) now pursuing strategic expansion in Western and Central Africa, Groupe Premium.

He is a Board Member of Amethis Investment Fund Manager SA (Luxembourg) and Non-Executive Board Member of PetroIvoire, Novamed and NSIA Participations in Ivory Coast, Sodigaz (Burkina Faso) and Groupe Premium (Morocco).

He has a strong entrepreneurial profile, built in Africa and France during his 18 years of experience.

Prior to joining Amethis in 2012, he launched, managed and successfully sold several companies in the French food catering and restaurant industry.

He started his career in stock market risk management. He then joined Proparco, where he worked on Sub-Saharan African equity and debt transactions, based between Africa and Paris.

Lopez holds a degree in finance from Dauphine University (Paris).

Lopez said: “We have followed a great path since Amethis creation in 2012. Joining Luc and Laurent at the very beginning was an engaged choice and when I look at what we have achieved all together with the team I feel proud and honoured. The biggest reward is to partner with successful entrepreneurs and families in their journey towards economic growth thanks to responsible investment strategies.”