On October 16, 2007, Columbia Business School's Young Arab Leaders Association (YALA) welcomed Egypt's Citadel Capital to campus to discuss the nascent private equity industry in the Middle East and North Africa. Hisham El Khazindar, cofounder of Citadel, and Abdalla Elebiary, MBA '01, a principal of the firm, spent over an hour detailing for a lunchtime audience of approximately 50 students private equity trends in the Middle East and North Africa and the particulars surrounding the establishment of Citadel Capital in 2003.

"Private equity is becoming an important asset class," declared Abdalla Elebiary, a Columbia Business School alumnus and an early hire of Citadel Capital. He noted that private equity accounts for 20 percent of global M&A volume and has delivered superior returns to investors relative to average returns on public equities over the past 10 years. "The top quartile of private equity drives superior returns," he said. This top quartile in the United States has delivered 10-year returns of 40 percent, compared with just under 13 percent for all quartiles of private equity combined. Evident during the discussion was the ambition of Mr. Elebiary and Hisham El Khazindar to ensure that Citadel Capital deliver superior returns as a top-quartile private equity player.

As impressive as the growth in private equity has been on a global basis, Mr. Elebiary painted an even rosier picture for private equity in emerging markets. "From 2004 through 2006, private equity funds for emerging markets grew fivefold..., and the Middle East limited partner expected returns exceeded those of the United States by 5.6 percent," he said. As of 2006, the Middle East and North Africa accounted for almost 9 percent of all funds raised for emerging markets, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for just over 7 percent and emerging markets in Asia accounting for over half of the total. "It's the trend that matters," Mr. Elebiary said, indicating that future inflows of private equity into the Middle East and North Africa and superior returns from these investments in the region will continue. "Fund managers are realizing that these areas can kick-start their funds," he said. "Emerging markets are attracting a lot of attention, and for good reason: the returns are there."