Giving Back to Our Communities

Citadel Capital’s leadership team and employees are strongly motivated by the desire to leave the communities in which they do business better places than they found them. Citadel Capital’s formal funding for community development initiatives — as distinct from the personal philanthropy of the managing partners and staff — has totaled more than US$ 30 million since 2004.

The firm has a particular interest in supporting education. In 2007, it endowed the Citadel Capital Scholarship Foundation to grant academic scholarships to talented young Egyptian men and women interested in pursuing Master’s degrees and PhDs at international universities. Up to 20 students each year receive generous scholarships to follow their dreams at some of the most prestigious educational institutions worldwide. The only condition: They must return to work in Egypt upon graduation.

Citadel Capital also donated US$ 250,000 to establish the Citadel Capital Financial Service Center (CCFSC) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). The center opened in 2006 as the Middle East’s first institution dedicated to providing financial and analytical education that prepares students for careers in securities trading, risk management and asset allocation. The CCFSC also strives to provide students, researchers and professionals with the knowledge and skills to lead the region’s emerging financial services industry.

More than 800 students have thus far benefitted from CCFSC services including stock market simulations, Reuters certification workshops, guest lectures, project and research assistance, and real-time access to financial databases, among many other services. Today there are at least 50 graduates of CCFSC who work with financial institutions, NGOs and business associations in Egypt. Well over 100 faculty have also used its services.

Last year, the firm took solid steps toward the rollout of a foundation that will focus on building and developing Egyptian schools targeting lower-middle income segments of the population. The foundation will work to deliver a quality Egyptian national curriculum education in both rural and urban settings.

Citadel Capital’s platform companies are also active participants in their communities. Sabina, Citadel Capital’s Portfolio Company for investment in Sudanese agricultural production, has put in place a fund of US$ 1.58 million for social infrastructure improvements near Kosti, in Sudan’s White Nile State. where the company has obtained a 99-year lease on a 254,000-feddans of land. The company will not only provide new employment opportunities for local residents, it will also become actively engaged in training and education. Sabina will allocate US$ 395,000 each year for the next four years to rehabilitate schools and establish vocational training programs for farmers.

ASEC Cement, Citadel Capital’s portfolio company for investment for the regional cement industry is currently in the process of completing a turnaround of the Zahana Cement Company in Algeria. Since taking over the management of the partially privatized plant in 2006, ASEC Cement has significantly improved both technical efficiency and working conditions. Prior to ASEC Cement’s involvement in Zahana, the plant’s dilapidated pipes not only accounted for a 3% loss in production but were also in breach of environmental standards. Today, ASEC Cement has not only improved the overall efficiency of the plant, it has also significantly upgraded on-site working conditions affecting employee health and safety. Regular training sessions to develop the capabilities of ASEC Cement’s Algerian workforce have also been introduced.

The Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), Citadel Capital’s state-of-the-art US$ 3 billion greenfield second-stage oil refinery in the Greater Cairo Area, which is still in its pre-financial close phase, has already established a community development office. The current role of the office is to communicate with local residents about the refinery, assess available skills and collect information regarding training and community education programs. The community development office’s scope of service will broaden gradually as the project moves into the implementation phase.