East Africa focused private equity firm, Catalyst Principal Partners has appointed Jim Seymour as a member of its board of Senior Advisors, and Andrew Reicher as Chairman of its Investment Committee.

Seymour has 40 years’ experience in emerging markets with 15 years managing international and emerging markets private equity funds of funds.

As Managing Partner at Pontefract Global Strategies, he provides consulting and advisory services to investors and investment management firms in the emerging markets focusing primarily on private equity in the frontier markets.

He acts and has acted as an Advisor, Director and Investment Committee member for numerous private equity funds and managers across emerging markets, including in Africa.

Previously, as Co-Head, International Equity and Emerging Markets Funds Commonfund, he established and managed a series of emerging markets fund of funds, where he acted a member of Advisory Boards of various international and domestic private capital limited partnerships, including leading African managers.

Reicher has over 30 years of private equity and investment banking experience across emerging markets, with significant exposure to Africa.

He is the current Chair of Berkeley Energy Africa, a renewable energy fund manager with $100m of funds under management in Asian and African emerging markets.

Previously, at CDC Group Plc and Actis Capital, he served as the Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of their respective Investment Committees, with responsibility for investments across emerging markets and across a diversity of assets classes, including a significant African portfolio in private equity, real estate, infrastructure and agribusiness.

He also acted as Head of Infrastructure Fund and, later, as Chief Executive Officer of Globeleq, the wholly owned electricity generation company operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The appointments underscore Catalyst’s strategy of infusing global expertise with regional markets knowledge in the raising and deployment of capital, such that Catalyst is able to add value beyond capital to its investors and partners.

Further, through the strengthening of its capability, expertise and governance structures, Catalyst aims to deliver the highest standards of oversight over funds under management and in the realization of top-quartile investment returns.

Paul Kavuma, Catalyst Principal Partners CEO, said: “We are pleased to have Jim Seymour and Andrew Reicher, such seasoned private equity and investment professionals, join our team. Their depth of experience in emerging markets investment offers substantial value to Catalyst as we strive to provide innovative ways to support dynamic entrepreneurs and strong management teams across the region, whose aspirations for accelerated growth and performance improvements we will continue to back with value-added investment capital.”

“As integral members of Catalyst’s decision making bodies, and as key pillars in our strategic agenda of integrating world-class expertise with depth of local knowledge, we are excited and look forward to Jim and Andrew’s valued contributions and wise counsel in the implementation of our investment program, as we expand our differentiated product offerings to the East African market,” he added.