New Delhi, June 15 -- French private equity firm Amethis, which invests in mid-sized businesses across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, has launched its third vehicle focussed on the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) region.

The Paris-headquartered investor, managing more than €1.5 billion of assets, is looking to raise nearly double what it did with its previous vehicle by targeting €200 million (around Rs 2,200 crore) for Amethis MENA Fund III.

This is around 1.7x the size of the Amethis MENA Fund II, a 2021 vintage that hit the first close in 2021 and final close in 2022 after collecting €120 million. The Amethis Maghreb Fund (AMF) I, originally launched as Capital North Africa Venture Fund II and rebranded to AMF 1 after Amethis took over, closed at €75 million.

Amethis has also tapped an existing limited partner European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental investment bank, to back the vehicle. EBRD is likely to sign a larger cheque than before and is exploring a commitment of €40 million to the fund that will help get the first close. Previously, the London-based firm has invested €20 million in its second vehicle.

Through the fund, Amethis aims to make equity and equity-related investments predominantly in small and medium-sized enterprises. The fund's geographical focus is Morocco and Egypt, and selectively in Tunisia and Jordan.

Founded in 2012 by Laurent Demey and Luc Rigouzzo, Amethis is a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity Partnership. The firm provides growth capital to mid-sized companies across three investment strategies: Small and Mid-Caps Africa, Small Caps North Africa and Middle East, and Small Caps Europe.

The PE firm, which has offices in Paris, Abidjan, Casablanca, Nairobi, Cairo and Luxembourg, in January closed its flagship and pan-African fund Amethis Fund III with €406 million (about $472 million).

Last year, it also raised its Europe Expansion Fund that aims to back growth-stage French and European SMEs with plans to expand in Africa. It marked the first close of this fund with €75 million in April 2023 and the final close with €150 million in November 2025, when it had deployed close to 50% of its commitments across five investments.

Amethis' portfolio also includes Moroccan capital goods distributor Groupe Premium, Mauritian hotel group Maurice, telecom infra services provider Netis, and Spanish cosmetic products manufacturer HB Aesthetics.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.