Fund of direct and mezzanine investments launched in Bishkek

A new Highland Private Equity and Mezzanine Fund was presented at the Orion business center on November 1, 2018.

Highland Capital is an investment advisor to the fund in the search for investment projects, their analysis and subsequent implementation. The fund aims to invest in fast-growing companies in Kyrgyzstan in the form of equity capital or mezzanine financing to ensure their continued growth. The total raised capital of the fund is $15 million. The long-term investors of the fund are international institutional investors such as IFC (International Finance Corporation) and the International Development Association (IDA), members of the World Bank Group, as well as private investors from the United States and Kyrgyzstan.

The Highland Private Equity and Mezzanine Fund is the first institutional private equity fund in the country. The fund will provide critical growth capital of $800,000 to $5 million to local SMEs in services, agricultural processing, health, education, telecommunications, media, and technology. This is critical because smaller business across the country often struggle to access the capital they need to expand.

Cholpon Jumashukurov, Highland Capital’s Senior Managing Partner, said: “We are thrilled to have built a diversified base of high‐caliber investors, including IFC and other private investors. We are thankful to IFC, our anchor investor, and to Emil Umetaliev, a reputable local businessman, who trusted our team and approach by investing in our fund. Our investment approach fits the local market very well as it addresses the huge deficit of risk capital. We see a large number of compelling investment opportunities and we favor investments where our team can add significant value beyond capital provision.”