The investment will continue Diani Beach Hospital’s growth, thus improving healthcare provision for hundreds of thousands of Kenyans living in an underserved part of the country
DIANI BEACH, KENYA – Proparco, France’s development finance institution and Ascent Rift Valley Fund II, a leading East African private equity fund are pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority equity stake in Diani Beach Hospital Limited (“DBH”), the leading healthcare provider on Kenya’s South Coast.
On Proparco’s side, the investment is made under the FISEA+ initiative, a high-impact investment facility dedicated to supporting MSMEs in Africa owned by Proparco’s parent company, the French Development Agency (“AFD”).
Founded as a 10-bed private hospital in 1997, Diani Beach Hospital is today the largest private healthcare facility in Kwale Country, with more than 120 beds across four sites. DBH has been a pioneer in offering quality and affordable medical services across the entire South Coast of Kenya. It is the reference private hospital locally, working with key local and international insurers, parastatals and corporations.
Together with DBH’s founder, Dr Kawaljeet Singh Rekhi, Ascent Capital and Proparco will continue to grow and strengthen the business – thereby expanding healthcare provision and improving quality of care in an underserved part of Kenya. This will benefit an estimated 600,000 inpatients and outpatients over the next five years. The investment will cement DBH’s role as a key local employer, with women, in particular, constituting c. 50% of employment and leadership roles. As such, DBH qualifies for the 2X Challenge, a global gender finance initiative.
Dr Kawaljeet Singh Rekhi, the founder and CEO of Diani Beach Hospital commented “the investment by FISEA+ and Ascent into Diani Beach Hospital marks a significant milestone in our journey and paves the way for our next chapter of growth and success. We are incredibly excited to welcome members of both Proparco and Ascent onto our board of directors, to leverage their unequivocal local and international expertise in the healthcare space in order to enhance and accelerate our ambitious growth strategy over the short- and medium-term. We look forward to strengthening the Diani Beach Hospital brand as we continue to expand, affording access to world-class healthcare to an ever-increasing number of people to whom we look to serve.”
Lucas Kranck, Managing Partner at Ascent Capital Advisory Services LLP commented “we are very excited about the fund’s investment into Diani Beach Hospital. The work done by Dr Rekhi and his team to create and grow the leading hospital on the South Coast of Kenya has been exceptional and we are very proud to be part of the journey going forward. We look forward to working with Dr Rekhi and the hospital management and staff to expand regionally and offer additional services to the hospital’s clients.”
Damien Braud, Head of Equity for Africa and the Middle East at Proparco commented “we are thrilled about the investment by FISEA+ in Diani Beach Hospital. DBH is the essential provider of healthcare for the entire coastal area south of Mombasa. Dr Rekhi and his team have built a highly successful business, attracting competent staff and clinicians thanks to quality infrastructure, operations and management. The area where DBH operates is still largely underserved and we are excited about the growth potential that this represents. Healthcare is a core sector for Proparco and the investment also meets FISEA+’s mandate of supporting SMEs, particularly in rural areas.”
Romain Esperon / presse@proparco.fr
Lucas Kranck / l.kranck@ascent-africa.com
DBH media team / media@dbh.co.ke
Microsoft Word – Press release DBH – 07.07.22 Final.docx
About Diani Beach Hospital
Founded in 1997, Diani Beach Hospital is the pre-eminent private hospital in Kwale County and provides
primary and secondary care treatment to a broad range of patients, serving residents in the local
community(ies), tourists and corporate patients alike. While a full-service hospital, noteworthy facilities
and infrastructure include two state-of-the-art major theatres, the regions only neonatal ICU (which further
increases the capability of the hospital’s top-tier ICU), a broad imaging department (including CT, x-ray
and ultrasound) and dedicated optical, maternity, dialysis, dental, physiotherapy and occupational
therapy departments. The hospital is located in Diani Beach, Kwale County with additional satellite clinics
in Likoni, Kwale Town and Ukunda. For more information visit dianibeachhospital.com.
About Ascent Rift Valley Fund II LP
Ascent Rift Valley Fund II LP (“ARVF II”) is a USD 128 million private equity fund whose focus is to invest in
East Africa targeting small and medium sized companies (SMEs). ARVF II LP seeks to invest in scalable fastgrowing
enterprises with investments amounts ranging between USD 4 million to USD 15 million per Investee Company.
Ascent Capital Management Africa II Ltd (“Ascent Capital”) is the exclusive investment adviser to ARVF
II. Through its associated advisory firms, Ascent Capital is represented in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Ascent Capital Advisory Services LLP is the Kenyan firm advising Ascent Capital.
For more information visit ascent-africa.com
About Proparco
Proparco is the private-sector arm of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de
Développement – AFD). Proparco has been promoting sustainable economic, social and environmental
development for over 40 years. It provides funding and support to businesses in Africa, Asia, Latin America
and the Middle East. Its action focuses on key development sectors, particularly healthcare, education,
renewable energy, agribusiness and financial institutions.
Proparco’s operations aim to strengthen the private sector’s contribution to the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). To this end, Proparco finances companies creating jobs and decent incomes, providing
essential goods and services and combating climate change. For a World in Common.
For further information: www.proparco.fr and @Proparco.
About FISEA+
In 2009, the AFD and Proparco set up the FISEA facility with the objective of promoting economic growth
and the creation of start-ups and MSMEs on the African continent. Having fully deployed the initial
capacity of €250m by 2019, a new facility, FISEA+ was launched in early 2021 as part of the Choose Africa
initiative, to continue to support African businesses, either directly or via investment funds. FISEA+ is
advised by Proparco.
