Zoscales Partners voted “East African Fund Manager of the Year”

Zoscales Partners’ (“Zoscales”) investment team attended the SuperReturn Africa Conference in Cape Town in December 2019.

In the days leading to the conference, Zoscales was nominated for the “SuperReturn Africa GP Awards”, a contest that recognizes private capital fund managers across several categories. At the conferences award ceremony held on December 3rd, Zoscales was voted Best East African Fund Manager to the delight of the representative team. “We were honoured to be nominated for this award in the first place and, frankly speaking, we were pleasantly surprised to have won the Best East African Fund Manager category,” said Jacop Rentschler.

Zoscales reached out to one of the judges on the panel, Ziad H. Sarkis, to understand what helped Zoscales stand out amongst its peers.  Ziad is a Private Capital Fund expert and the Director of Research at the Joshua J. Harris Alternative Investments Program at the renowned Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work includes tracking LPs and GPs and private capital fund investment trends globally, particularly in emerging markets. Here is what Ziad Sarkis shared with us: “Zoscales is one of the few private capital players who understand and actively operate in East African markets. They have a unique team with the right mix of talent and backgrounds to operate effectively in the region, particularly in tackling frontier countries such as Ethiopia. I categorize Zoscales Partners as an Emerging Manager to watch over the coming years, particularly for allocators seeking exposure to a growing Ethiopian economy, amongst other factors”.

Co-Founders and Managing Partners Ashenafi Alemu and Jacop Rentschler were invited as panelists to various on-stage debates. One of the panels was “Silent Giants on the Rise”, which addressed the investment potential in Rwanda, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Ethiopia. Another panel was “Unlocked Potential”, which discussed key drivers of economic growth in frontier markets. To Ashenafi and Jacop, the SuperReturn Africa conference is an important forum to discuss investment trends and challenges in Africa: “We always look forward to participating in the SuperReturn Africa conference. It gathers the largest investors globally but also the most successful investment funds. This is an excellent platform for networking but also for learning and sharing experiences,” said Jacop Rentschler.

What is SuperReturn Africa?

The SuperReturn Africa Conference is the largest private equity and venture capital event in Africa. In December 2019, the event was joined by 500+ decision-makers and brought together 200+ General Partners and 130+ Limited Partners in the private equity industry.

Zoscales Co-Founders and Managing Partners Jacop Rentschler (Left) and Ashenafi Alemu (Right) holding the “SuperReturn Africa East African Fund Manager of the Year” Award.