1) Screening: Business opportunities are screened based on the basic data provided to decide on their fit with the Fund's general investment guidelines and criteria. In this phase the business concept is examined, along with the basic financial requirements, regulatory issues and relevant experiences/competencies of management team.

2) Initial Evaluation: Business plans is examined in detail by the appraisal team. Additional information might be required and basic research is conducted to assess the opportunity from the legal, financial, technical and operational aspects.

3) Negotiating Investor Terms: Term Sheets are developed setting forth the basic terms and conditions under which an investment will be made.

4) Investment Approval: The Investment Committee is responsible for approving all investment and divestment decisions as recommended by the Fund Manager (EFG-Hermes). This committee consists of five members: three from EFG-Hermes, one from MCIT, and one from Telecom Egypt.

5) Due-Diligence: All the details of the business come under scrutiny and are examined and refined by the appraisal team. The due-diligence is only conducted once the business has been approved for investment in the earlier phase. Once the due-diligence confirms and verifies the required info/details, the process of finalizing and closing the deal begins.

6)Funding: Funding occurs after there has been enough interest generated through dinner meetings and internal communication from the entrepreneur and deal lead.

The whole evaluation process usually takes between 6-12 weeks - until deal closure - and the entrepreneurs are actively engaged in all the phases of the evaluation.