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ARTICLE · 31 OCTOBER 2019

Emerging Markets Funds: Not In Kansas Anymore

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This article is not about the Abraaj Group, but as the Abraaj train wreck seems at last to be in the course of resolution it seemed a good moment to reflect on the current state of emerging markets...

United StatesFinance and Banking
John Daghlian
John Daghlian
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This article is not about the Abraaj Group, but as the Abraaj train wreck seems at last to be in the course of resolution it seemed a good moment to reflect on the current state of emerging markets funds, particularly those that are development institution backed. Before you read more of this article you should take note that what follows are my opinions, and not those of my partners.

When I first worked in private equity I particularly enjoyed the emerging markets work because it was so much less formulaic, more open to innovation, than regular venture capital (VC) or private equity (PE). The DFIs got exciting things done (I still admire one intrepid CDC executive who flew to Kabul in 2005 to diligence an Afghan fund). The funds and the deals were truly greenfield. Communism vanished from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America were open for business and intrepid people were investing.

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