President
Mrs. Fourati is President of the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund since its incorporation in 2013 when USAID committed an envelope of USD 100 million to promote the Tunisian private sector. Since then, she recruited and trained a team of 11 investment professionals (among which 7 are women) which are committed and deploying all their efforts to provide “Smart Capital” in order to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises in Tunisia and address the financing gap that they are facing.
Since TAEF inception, Hela developed and is deploying an investment strategy based on adapting and designing flexible investment mechanisms or “Smart Capital” to support Tunisian entrepreneurs in the different stages of their development. For instance, it invests in microentrepreneurs (indirectly by investing in microfinance institutions), in startups (as it is anchor investor in Flat6lab/Anava Seed Fund the first integrated acceleration and seed funding platform in the country) , in small and mid-sized companies either directly via an innovative mezzanine debt vehicle which made 22 investments to date or indirectly via funds of funds (Tuninvest Croissance, Inma Holding and a private debt vehicle Inma Finance) and in search funds or entrepreneurs via SMEs acquisition (it invested in the first search fund in the country Tunisian American Search Fund that operated a full buy out through a LBO).
The aim of TAEF led by Hela, is to foster the economic development of the country and catalyze the investment industry, to maintain and create sustainable jobs with gender, youth and regional inclusion, having an impact on improving people’s lives and more generally to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Prior to joining the TAEF, Hela, as an Executive Director, lead the investment activity in Tunisia of SanLucar Group present in Europe, South Africa and Ecuador for acquisitions and investments in the agribusiness field.
Previously, as a Director of Swicorp, a private financial services group providing solutions in the spheres of investment banking, private equity and asset management in the Middle East and North Africa headquartered in Saudi Arabia and UAE, Hela was one of the founding members of a pioneering team that successfully raised over USD 1 billion invested in a diversified portfolio across the region. She served on the boards of multiple companies of the portfolio. Her due expertise with investment, valuation, due diligence, structuring and oversight is complemented by her audit expertise.
Earlier in her career, Hela worked as an auditor with Coopers&Lybrand Tunisia (the global accounting and consulting firm that subsequently merged with Price Waterhouse) and KPMG Tunisia.
During her career, she participated in many juries, debates, conferences and international forums in entrepreneurship, financing, investments and women empowerment. Among her contribution to the ecosystem, she was selected to represent the Tunisian delegation during “The Women’s Forum Global Meeting” in Deauville in October 2015. She was also a speaker at the “EY Strategic Growth Forum” in Italy, member of the jury of the “Empower Her Maghreb” initiative of the World Bank and speaker at the “Forum of Digital Economy Opportunity in Africa” of the IFC in Sharm El Sheikh
Hela is board member of financial institutions (microfinance and fund of funds) as well as of several Tunisian companies operating in various sectors (energy, industries, services, IT etc..)
Hela has a C.P.A., master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the Universities of IHEC Tunis.
She is fluent in English, Arabic and French.