English (United States)

About

Wherever we invest

we will always aspire to transform lives and to make a lasting contribution to sustainable economic development

Orascom Investment Holding seeks to invest in countries and sectors where we see the potential to make a real difference. Our goal is to transform these opportunities into market-leading global businesses. The net result, to maximize value for our shareholders, create a lasting impact on the development of the countries in which we operate, and contribute to improving the lives of their people. We believe in impact investing as it is one of our core drivers.

Significant investment opportunities in Egypt and Africa

With one of the best reform initiatives in the Middle East today, Egypt has become one of the region’s fastest-growing economies offering attractive investment opportunities. As it is our home country, OIH intends to capitalize on the continuing projected socio-economic boom in Egypt, leveraging its unparalleled expertise and local know-how to create and capitalize on new opportunities while increasing shareholder returns.

Furthermore, building on its successful history of North African and Sub-Saharan investments, OIH intends to further its foray into African markets to help meet the needs of some of the least developed, fastest-growing populations on the planet, positioning itself as an urban African investment vehicle. Africa’s economic acceleration and improved business environment are offering a significant opportunity for investors who are able to navigate local norms while bringing best practices to local markets and who can simultaneously play a transformative role in solving the continent’s biggest challenges.

History &
Milestones

OIH maintains the legacy of the region’s most successful telecoms investor/operator. Tracing its roots back to Orascom Telecom Holding, established in 1997, and then Orascom Telecom Media and Technologies, born in 2011, until the recent rebranding into Orascom Investment Holding and the shift to diversify its investments into other high-growth sectors. Orascom Investment Holding continues to rely on its strong ability to identify opportunities and its exceptional operational management expertise to turn them into market-leading global businesses, demonstrated throughout its history.

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2009

2011

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2021

  • Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) established as an IT and telecom leader in Egypt, led by the Sawiris family

  • Commencing GSM operations by acquiring 51% of ECMS (Mobinil) with France Telecom and Motorola, Egypt

  • Acquisition of a controlling stake in JMTS-Fastlink in Jordan

  • Acquisition of 38.6% stake in PMCL – Mobilink in Pakistan

  • Acquisition of 80% stake in Telecel including 11 licenses in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

  • Acquisition of Greenfield license in Yemen

  • OTH floats on the Cairo, Alexandria as well as London Stock Exchange

  • BOT contract awarded in Syria

  • Acquisition of Greenfield license in Algeria

  • Increasing stakes in Fastlink - Jordan to 91.6%, in ECMS - Egypt to 31.26% and in PMCL – Pakistan to 88.69%

  • Acquisition of Greenfield license and the establishment of a joint venture with Wataniya to operate its GSM license in Tunisia

  • Restructuring of 12 operations under Telecel in sub-Saharan Africa

  • Sale of Fastlink – Jordan for 423M USD

  • Acquisition of Greenfield license in Iraq

  • Sale of seven GSM assets in sub-Saharan Africa

  • Acquisition of Banglalink in Bangladesh

  • Sale of Oasis Telecom in the Democratic Republic of Congo

  • Sale of Libertis Telecom in Congo Brazzaville

  • Increasing stake in OTA- Algeria to reach 96.81%

  • Acquisition of minority stakes in PMCL - Pakistan, leading to 100% indirect ownership of share capital of Mobilink

  • Sale of Iraqna for $1.2 billion in Iraq

  • Acquisition of Greenfield license in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

  • Participation in a consortium with Globalive Communications Corporation to create a new wireless operator in Canada

  • Acquisition of telecom operators U-Com and Telecel in Burundi and Central African Republic by the majority-owned subsidiary Telecel Globe

  • Acquisition of Cell One in Namibia by the majority-owned subsidiary Telecel Globe

  • Management contract awarded for Alfa in Lebanon

  • Internal reorganization leading to the establishment of two separate companies; OTH and Orascom Telecom Media & Technologies (OTMT), paving the way for a merger with Vimplecom Ltd

  • Move of media and technology assets in Egypt, North Korea, Pakistan, and all North African and Middle Eastern countries under OTMT

  • Merger of Wind Telecom, the mother company of OTH with Vimplecom Ltd creating the world's sixth-largest mobile telecommunications provider with 86 million subscribers

  • OTMT starts trading on the London Stock Exchange

  • Disposal of Medcable

  • Disposal of the majority of our stake in the Egyptian Company for Mobile services (Mobinil)

  • Disposal of non-core assets owned by OT Ventures

  • Launch of MENA Submarine Cable by OTMT

  • Board approval to diversify the company’s portfolio from telecom and IT only into other sectors of operations

  • Acquisition of Beltone Financial Holding

  • Disposal of the remaining investment in Mobinil to Orange

  • Real Estate investment in Sao Paulo Brazil

  • Beltone Financial Holding's acquisition of 60% of Auerbach Grayson, a New York-based brokerage and placement firm

  • Initiation of the acquisition of the Giza Pyramids Sound & Light show concession by OTMT’s subsidiary INARA

  • Acquisition of a controlling stake in Riza Capital Brazil, an investment bank specializing in Mergers and acquisitions.

  • Exploration of opportunities in the agribusiness sector in West Africa begins

  • Sale of MENA Cable

  • Orascom Telecom Media & Technologies Holding (OTMT) changes its name to Orascom Investment Holding

  • Signing of USD 170 Million Finance Facility with Afreximbank

  • Acquisition of 30% stake of Sarwa Capital, a leading provider of consumer and structured finance solutions

  • Signing Contract to provide visitor services at the Giza Pyramids Plateau

  • Demerger of the company according to the method of horizontal division into two separate companies; OIH and Orascom Financial Holding (OFH).

Board Members

We believe if you give a motivated and creative person enough freedom they can do amazing things. We believe a group of these people can change the world. Our board members bring a wealth of experience from some of the world’s most formidable agencies.

Naguib Sawiris

Executive Charmain

Marwan Hussein

CEO

Akil Beshir

Non-Executive Board Member

Wafaa Zaklama

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Ashraf Salman

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Manal Abdel-Hamid

Executive Board Member

Mohammed Hamdan Ashmawy

Non-Executive Board Member

Hassan Abdou

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Naguib Sawiris

Executive Charmain

Mr. Naguib Sawiris founded Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) and led it to become the leading regional telecom player until the much-publicized merger deal with VEON (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.), creating the world’s sixth largest mobile telecommunications provider in April 2011.
Today, he is the Executive Chairman of Orascom Investment Holding, a holding company with a diversified investment portfolio targeting high-growth sectors where it sees opportunities of transformation and community impact in Egypt and Africa, including Tourism & Destination Development, Renewable Energy & Electrical Mobility, Trading & Logistics and Telecom.
Mr. Sawiris is Chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee of La Mancha Resource Capital LLP, an investment adviser to a Luxembourg-based fund focused on the precious and energy transition metals sectors, which has equity investments in Endeavour Mining PLC, Elemental Altus Royalties Corp., Falcon Energy Materials PLC., G Mining Ventures Corp., and Greenheart Gold Inc.
Mr. Sawiris is also Chairman of Ora Developers, a company undertaking high-end real estate developments and hospitality projects in various prime locations around the world.
At international and regional levels, Mr. Sawiris served and is serving on a number of boards, committees and councils including International Advisory Committee to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), International Advisory Board to the National Bank of Kuwait, London Stock Exchange’s Africa Advisory Group, External Advisory Council to the Global Institute for Advanced Study at NYU, and the Board of Trustees of the Arab Thought Foundation.
Mr. Sawiris is also the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and civic honors, including an Honorary Doctorate of Law conferred upon him by Handong Global University of South Korea in 2021, the “Legion d’Honneur“ (the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding services rendered to France). In July 2011 Mr. Sawiris was awarded the Honor of Commander of the Order of the “Stella della Solidarietà Italiana” (Star of Italian Solidarity). In 2006, the prestigious “Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam” award was conferred upon him by General Pervez Musharref for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments, and social sector work.
Mr. Sawiris holds a diploma of Mechanical Engineering with a Masters in Technical Administration from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich) and a Diploma from the German Evangelical School, Cairo, Egypt.

Marwan Hussein

CEO

Mr. Marwan is an experienced executive currently being the Chief Executive Officer of Orascom Investment Holding and is also serving as the Chairman and Board Member on boards of several international and local institutions. He is also an experienced ex banker with over 20 years of experience. In 2009, He joined the Orascom Telecom Group as part of the finance team working closely with the executive team to conclude a successful sale and demerger of the group in 2011. Prior to joining Orascom, he served as AVP private banking with Credit Agricole Egypt.
Mr. Hussien’s work career started in 2002 in UAE, when he was working on various strategic infrastructure projects upon which he started his banking career with National Bank of Dubai. His last role with the bank was the Unit Head for the Investments and Bank Assurance Department.
Mr. Hussien received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and is a Registered Financial Specialist from the American Academy of Financial Management. He is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.

Akil Beshir

Non-Executive Board Member

Eng. Akil Beshir Served as Non-executive Vice Chairman of Orascom Investment Holding since 2014.
Upon his graduation in 1966, Mr. Beshir taught Mathematics at the Faculty of Engineering in Cairo University. During his career, Mr. Beshir assumed numerous roles in various technology companies. In 1978, he was appointed General Manager and Managing Director of Giza Systems Engineering. In 1985, he served as Vice President of Egyptian Computer Systems then as Vice Chairman of Al-Ahly Computer Equipment Company in 1996. In 2000, he was appointed as Chairman and CEO of Telecom Egypt.
Mr. Beshir also served on several boards in different capacities. He chaired the Board of Trustees of Nile University and the Egyptian Foundation for Technological Education Development, and Chairman of Al-Enmaa for Agricultural Development and Livestock. Mr. Beshir also served as a board member of the National Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation, the Egyptian Railways Authority, Nokia Siemens Networks, the National Telecommunications Institute, and Juhayna Food Industries.
Mr. Beshir holds an MBA from the American University in Cairo and a BSc in Telecommunications Engineering from Cairo Engineering.

Wafaa Zaklama

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Mrs. Wafaa Zaklama is an experienced Chartered Director currently serving as a board member on boards of several international and local institutions in addition to chairing a few board committees. She is also an experienced ex banker with over 30 years of banking experience. In 2007, she joined the Orascom Group as a Financial Consultant advising on various projects. Prior to joining Orascom, she joined the IFC, Mena Region for couple of years rolling the Corporate Governance project across the Gulf Region.
Mrs. Zaklama’s work career started in 1976 when she joined Cairo Barclays Bank as a fresh graduate working her career up to Co-managing Director, in addition to her role as the Regional Corporate Director.
She currently serves as a volunteer board member and treasurer in one of the leading NGO in the recycling field as part of her philanthropy and social responsibility work.
Mrs. Zaklama received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Cairo University and her Chartered Directorship from The Directors’ College Institute of the McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. She also holds a Director Professionalism Certificate, Corporate Directors Institute from the National Association of Corporate Directors “NACD” in Washington, D.C.

Ashraf Salman

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Ashraf Salman is currently the Chairman & CEO of AUR Capital, a private equity investment company. The company is considered the newest player in the Egyptian financial market, with a sector-focused strategy that aims at creating and adding value by helping companies realize their growth potential through providing capital and operating support to strong management teams, all while generating superior returns to our investors and building a long-term relationship with our partners.
Ashraf Salman was appointed as Minister of Investment of the Arab Republic of Egypt since June 2014 till March 2016. The ministry's mandate included directly supervising The General Authority for Investment (GAFI), the state-owned companies under the law number 203 of 1991. And overseeing the Egyptian capital market via the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), and the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX).
During this period, he chaired, and participated in, several governmental institutions such as being the chairman of The General Authority for Investment (GAFI), board member of the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), the General Authority for Rehabilitation projects and Agricultural Development (GARPAD), the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), and The Supreme Council of Tourism.
As the Minister of Investment, Salman chaired the general assemblies of the 8 holding companies (SOE's), where he managed to work on further diversifying the activities of the 125 affiliated companies and increase their contributing to the Egyptian economy.
Salman also headed and was a member of over 40 government committees concerned with investment related issues such as the ministerial economic committee, the investment conflict resolution committee, the international arbitrage counseling committee, amongst others.
He was the co-founder and co-CEO at Cairo Financial Holding (CFH), one of Egypt's fast-growing investment banks.
He was the Head of Corporate Finance & Investment Banking at Arab African International Bank (AAIB).
Prior to joining AAIB, his experience included 12 years of financial market exposure, local and international, being part of the Strategic Securities Group (SSG) as Managing Director, Board Member and Executive Committee Member heading the investment division.
He was directly involved with the Capital Market introducing the Primary Dealers/Market Making License and the Local and International Custody License for AAIB.
He was a board member of the Mortgage Financing Authority, the Investor Protection Fund and a member of the High Policy Committee, American Finance Association (NY), Institute of Finance, ECMA and the CASE Trading Practices Committee.
Throughout that period, he has been exposed to more than 200 restructuring and valuations for public companies.
He is an MBA holder from Birmingham University, Alabama, USA, and a Lead Assessor granted by SGS Yarsely, United Kingdom.
He acquired a wide experience in soliciting financial restructuring deals including; Dyaa El Kabany Group, Sornaga Ceramics, Misr Rayon, Al Nasr Pharmaceuticals, Egyptian Electric Isolators, Egyptian Matches Company, and Egyptian Modern Matches Company.
He has accumulated 25 years of commercial and investment banking and stock market experience.

Manal Abdel-Hamid

Executive Board Member

Manal Abdel-Hamid currently holds the position of CEO of OSL for Entertainment Projects (OSL), a subsidiary of Orascom Investment Holding. OSL has been established in 2021 to implement the contract with the Egyptian government to develop and co-manage the Sound & Light Show at the Great Pyramids of Giza.
At the Holding level of Orascom Investment Holding (OIH), Mrs. Abdel-Hamid also acts as Vice President of Corporate Affairs reporting directly to the Chairman. In this capacity, she acts as the PR and Media Officer of the Holding and is responsible for all high-level corporate communications activities, government relations, and CSR. Through her participation in negotiations with governmental organizations in Egypt and worldwide on new projects and projects under development, Mrs. Abdel-Hamid plays a supporting role in developing new businesses and opportunities for the company. She is also responsible for maintaining and nurturing the company’s relations with diplomatic bodies, international organizations, and high-level government officials that may contribute to enhancing the company’s interests.
Mrs. Abdel-Hamid sat on the boards of several companies affiliated with the Gemini Holding Group, such as the Supervisory Board of Euronews, the Board of Directors of OSL for Entertainment Projects, and the Board of MediaTerrania.
Mrs. Abdel-Hamid possesses a 29-year-long experience in the fields of Marketing, Public Relations, Media, and Advertising. She previously held the position of PR & Communications Senior Director at Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. Before joining Orascom Telecom, she headed two agencies in the fields of Public Relations and Advertising. From 1998, she headed Impressions Marketing Services, an agency specialized in providing Marketing and Public Relations consultancy services, and from 2005 to 2008, Media Terrania Advertising, a full-fledged advertising agency. Mrs. Abdel-Hamid has begun her career in 1993 within the Orascom Group. She joined the Marketing Department in the Information Technology sector and worked her way up to become the Marketing Manager for the whole group in 1997.
Mrs. Abdel-Hamid received a Bachelor’s Degree of Economics and Political Science from the American University in Cairo. She is fluent in Arabic, English, German, and possesses a sufficient knowledge of the French language.

Mohammed Hamdan Ashmawy

Non-Executive Board Member

Mr. Mohammed Hamdan Ashmawy has over 40 years of diversified experience in the financial sector in areas including banking management, merger and acquisition, investment restructure, insurance and consumer finance.
Mr. Ashmawy held the position of Executive Director at Tahya Misr Fund until early 2018 during which he was also a member of the board of directors of the Tahya Misr Holding Company for Investment and Development. Prior to that, Mr. Ashmawy was the Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of the United Bank of Egypt until 2006 and the First Deputy Chairman and MD of the Commercial International Bank before then from 2002 – 2006. He also chaired the board of Dyar real estate, was the deputy chairman of Misr El Kheir and was a member of numerous boards including Nasser Social Bank, the Egyptian Union Chamber of Commerce and the Cairo Chamber of commerce.
Mr. Ashmawy acquired his Bachelor’s degree of Commerce in Accounting in 1975, studied computer at the American University in Cairo in 1980 and banking credit at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1986.

Hassan Abdou

Non-Executive Expert Board Member

Hassan Abdou is an experienced CEO, investor, entrepreneur and operations manager with 30 years of work experience.  He first joined the Sawiris group in 2003 as Chief Executive Officer of Weather Investments II and Gemini Technologies overseeing a diversified portfolio of investments.  In 2005, he led the buy side team and was instrumental in the largest LBO in European history when Weather Investments bought Wind Telecom of Italy for a total amount exceeding 17 billion Euros. Wind Telecom was operationally and financially restructured and sold as part of a larger telecom asset in 2010.  In his tenure with the group he ran several major acquisitions and exits for the family. In 2017, Mr. Abdou rejoined the Sawiris group in the position of Executive Chairman of the family office Gemini Holdings.
In 2011, Mr. Abdou was appointed to the Advisory Board for the Business School of the American University in Cairo and is on the management and advisory boards of various companies around the world.  From 2011 until 2017 he was an independent, private equity investor doing various deals in the Middle East, Europe and the US. He began his career in 1991 in project management with ExxonMobil in the US and Europe and later as management consultant in the Boston Consulting Group's New York office. He later went on to be Fund Manager of the Horus Private Equity Fund in Egypt and Chief Investment Officer of EFG-Hermes Private Equity.
Hassan received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Wharton Business School.  He later went on to earn an MBA from the Harvard Business School.