Alterra Capital Partners, an Africa-focused private equity firm that spun out of Carlyle in 2020, has been joined by Bryce Fort and Paul Maasdorp, Partners at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), to launch a new African investment vehicle.

The Alterra leadership team will be: Bryce Fort, Eric Kump, Paul Maasdorp, Genevieve Sangudi and Bruce Steen.

Over the last ten years, the combined team has invested approximately $2bn across a variety of sectors in Africa including telecoms, technology, healthcare, consumer & retail, infrastructure, financial services, logistics and business services.

The Partners of Alterra have an average of 12 years of Africa private equity experience and, over the last decade, have led over 25 transactions in companies that operate in more than 45 African countries.

Bryce Fort and Paul Maasdorp will continue to add value to current investments at ECP.

Sangudi said: “This combination will allow us to redouble our efforts to execute attractive mid-market investments across the continent. It pools our significant track records, expertise and networks to more effectively raise capital, originate deals and create value.”

“We see a significant near-term opportunity in the mid-market to support strong companies with robust business models that have been adversely impacted by Covid-19 and need capital to recover from operational and market disruptions, and to capture emerging and accelerated growth opportunities.”

Fort said: “Paul Maasdorp and I have known and collaborated with the Alterra team for the last 10 years. In addition, Genevieve and I have worked closely together for a number of years as Partners of ECP.”

“We are a highly motivated team with complementary skills, geographic footprints, investment philosophies and LP relationships – and one with real depth in investment experience and execution capabilities with the resources to deliver value for investors.”

Alterra Capital Partners is an Africa-focused private equity firm targeting upper middle market companies out of offices in Johannesburg and Lagos.

Alterra was established in 2020 following the spin-out of Carlyle’s Africa investment team.

Today, Alterra advises Carlyle’s $700m Sub-Saharan Africa Fund.