Who We Are
Damascus Capital is a catalyst for change in East Africa
We are rigorous, tried-and-tested investors and advisers with the keys to unlock Africa’s explosive potential. We focus on fuelling growth of companies and communities in East Africa.
With a decade-long track record on the ground, Damascus is the most experienced equity financier resident in Uganda with an unmatched leadership team.
Investing in SMEs
Damascus Capital is an experienced private equity investor whose team has a proven track record in investing in Africa. Damascus focuses on growth capital investment opportunities in Uganda, driven by a consumer class with significant unmet demand. As an equity investor, Damascus focuses on investing in and unlocking the potential of SMEs in Uganda which it does not seek to operate directly, but rather create value by influencing strategic direction through active board participation and providing patient capital to drive sustainable and profitable growth.
Strategy Consulting
Damascus Advisory is a trusted adviser to East Africa's blue-chip corporates, crafting tailor-made strategies to confront corporate challenges and navigate complex situations, effecting action plans that drive transformational growth and competitiveness, and bringing global best-practice expertise to their most pivotal decisions. Damascus Capital also provides buy-side and sell-side advisory with particular expertise in East African PE acquisitions and exits, where we leverage our personal experience in private equity investing and our extensive local and pan-African network.
Our skills
We have a diverse set of skills, useful to SMEs looking for investment capital, large African corporates looking for strategic advice, and global or continental private equity firms looking for third-party services from a resident firm (such as pipeline development, portfolio management, operations and Board oversight, strategy execution).
Kim Kamarebe is a leading finance and investment professional in the East African region and holds a BS Financial Engineering Degree from Princeton University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Kim has significant experience in Investment Banking and Finance, Business Management, Strategy Consulting and Private Equity in the Europe, the U.S. and Africa.
With Damascus Advisory, Kim has been particularly active in the financial services and manufacturing sectors in Uganda, providing strategic advisory services to the Boards and/or management of leading corporates. Kim was previously the Country Director for AgDevCo Uganda, one of Africa’s leading agricultural impact investors with over $100 million invested in 55 agri-business investments across Africa. Prior to Damascus, Kim was in charge of East African Investments for TLG Capital, a leading private equity investor in frontier markets with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, whose investments include Quality Chemical Industries Limited, the first WHO-approved manufacturer of anti-retroviral and anti-malarial medications in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to TLG Capital, Kim worked at HSBC Bank’s Principal Investments Practice in London focusing on private equity investments in large cap African enterprises. Kim spent the early part of her career at Goldman Sachs International in London and New York, primarily covering Real Estate, Leverage Finance and Restructuring and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Kim sits on or has sat on the Boards of a number of Ugandan industries and philanthropies including Vero Food Industries Limited, Smart Business Intelligence, 32° East Uganda Arts Trust, Driven2Change Foundation to mention a few. She is a frequent speaker on finance and investment and is extremely socially conscious and community service oriented.