Exits MENA acquires Avanz Capital Egypt in multi-seven-figure deal
Egypt-based investment advisory platform Exits MENA has fully acquired Avanz Capital Egypt and will rebrand it as Exits Manara, its private capital and asset management subsidiary.
Exits MENA, the Egypt-based investment advisory platform, has signed a multi-seven-figure deal to fully acquire Avanz Capital Egypt (ACE). The purchase was made in partnership with ACE's existing local management and has received initial approval from Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority.
ACE is a private equity and asset management firm. After the deal it will be rebranded as Exits Manara and will function as Exits MENA's private capital and asset management subsidiary. Exits Manara will continue managing the existing Manara 1 fund of funds and plans to introduce Manara 2 for Export Investments, a vehicle aimed at mid-sized Egyptian exporters seeking international expansion.
ACE's existing management team stays in place, and its members hold an ownership stake in the combined group. Its CEO and Managing Director, Haytham Wagih, said the arrangement better aligns the firm's owners with its operators.
"We are now better aligned through ownership participation," Wagih said. "Our team remains in place and will continue to expand. Our investment process remains unchanged."
Dr. Nader Elsayed joins as a shareholder and Executive Director. Masa Arafa continues as Investment Director with ownership alignment.
Exits MENA was founded in 2022 by Mohamed Abuelnaga Nagaty, Ayman El Tanbouly, and Ahella El Saban. It provides M&A, fundraising, investment readiness, and advisory services to startups and SMEs. Since its founding the platform has expanded into more than seven global markets, established more than 75 partnerships, launched three ongoing investment-readiness programmes, and supported more than 2,000 businesses across the region.
The founding team said the acquisition completes the ecosystem they set out to build. Exits MENA began by advising startups and small companies on deals and fundraising; now it can also manage capital for the same kinds of businesses. The enlarged group brings advisory, private equity, and asset management capabilities under one banner, while keeping a strict separation between advisory mandates and investment decision-making.
That separation matters because the two sides of the business answer to different pressures. Advisory work serves clients who want guidance on deals. Asset management serves investors who want returns. Combining both inside one group risks conflict; keeping them distinct is how the firm says it plans to avoid that outcome.
The move also lands against a stark backdrop for SME financing in the region. The World Bank reports that SMEs in the MENA region receive roughly 8% of total bank credit, compared with 22% in high-income economies. CGAP estimates the Arab world's SME finance gap at about $123 billion. The distance between those credit figures is a measure of how far the region's lenders lag their counterparts elsewhere. An Egypt-based group that can pair advisory support with managed capital is aiming squarely at that gap.
