New Delhi, July 28 -- French private equity firm Amethis, which invests in mid-sized businesses across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, has roped in another key limited partner (LP) for its third vehicle focussed on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The Paris-headquartered investor, which manages more than €1.5 billion in assets, is likely to receive backing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, for Amethis MENA Fund III, which it rolled out recently.

IFC is considering an investment of up to €25 million ($28.4 million) in the vehicle, along with an additional co-investment sleeve of up to €15 million. It is a returning LP for Amethis' MENA strategy, having previously committed up to €12.5 million to the firm's second MENA fund in 2021.

Amethis is looking to raise €200 million for Amethis MENA Fund III, including a greenshoe option, nearly double the size of its predecessor.

The target corpus is around 1.7 times larger than Amethis MENA Fund II, a 2021-vintage vehicle that hit its first close in 2021 and final close in 2022 after collecting €120 million. Before that, the Amethis Maghreb Fund I (AMF) I, originally launched as Capital North Africa Venture Fund II and later rebranded after Amethis took over, closed at €75 million.

Previously, VCCircle reported that the fund had also tapped existing LP European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental bank. The London-based EBRD is likely to sign a larger cheque than before and is exploring a commitment of €40 million to the fund, which will help reach the first close. Previously, it had invested €20 million in the second vehicle.

Through the fund, Amethis aims to make equity and equity-related investments primarily in small and medium-sized enterprises. The fund will focus on companies in Morocco and Egypt, while retaining flexibility to invest selectively in Tunisia and Jordan.

It will acquire both minority and majority stakes across sectors including business services, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution, infrastructure and energy services, and technology.

"The fund will primarily focus on investments in companies based in Morocco and Egypt, reflecting our North African investment strategy," a spokesperson told VCCircle last month. "We are progressing well through the pre-marketing phase. At this stage, we are targeting a first closing in Q4 2026, subject to market conditions and the completion of the fundraising process."

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 through 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, closed its flagship pan-African fund, Amethis Fund III, at €406 million (about $472 million) in January.

Last year, it also raised its Europe Expansion Fund, which aims to back growth-stage French and European SMEs looking to expand into Africa. The fund marked its first close of €75 million in April 2023 and a final close of €150 million in November 2025, by which time it had deployed close to 50% of its commitments across five investments.

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

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