Mark Mobius, known as the godfather of emerging markets, says what is happening in the region is “exciting”.

“It’s probably one of the fastest growing regions in the world in such a short period of time,” he says. “And that says a lot about the leadership of these countries and what their goals are. So the opportunities are really great.”

His interest and investment in the growing sector saw him join Shatranj Capital Partners (SCP), a private equity fund scaling F&B brands in the Middle East. Mobius joined as an advisor in May.

“I got very interested in what they were doing. It’s very much in line with what we were doing in emerging markets and private equity. I think they’ve got a great model which parallels my journey in emerging markets in many ways,” he says.

Mobius also says that the entity’s sector-focus approach and strong relationships and operational expertise in franchise F&B (given the founders’ backgrounds), was also a key point for him. Conceptualised by American F&B operators living in the Middle East, SPC was founded by Peter Schatzberg, (founder and former CEO of MENA-based Sweetheart Kitchen), and Brandon Guthrie (former Wendy’s Head of Finance for APMEA).

“I think their vision for creating value through operational excellence and ESG [environmental, social, and corporate governance] is very timely, and very appropriate for private equity in emerging markets, particularly on the ESG and governance side of things,” says the former fund manager and founder of Mobius Capital Partners LLP.

“The big, big challenge in the Middle East that we found, and is true in other parts of the emerging markets world, is that you have incredibly successful companies that are family owned. Although their operations are very good, and many of them are excellent and very efficient, the trouble is, when it comes to outside shareholders, the governance is not there.

“In other words, they’re not really concerned about outside investors, and that creates governance problems.”

When it comes to encouraging better governance, one of the key factors the experienced entrepreneur highlights is an investor relations manager.

Mobius says: “I’m surprised… When you go into a company, and they don’t have a investor relations person. This is no big cost, so it’s something that they can do.”

The importance of diversity

Representation is another factor. “Have a woman on your board,” he adds. “You need more diversity. We get a lot of positive reactions to this because many times, they just haven’t thought about it. Of course, in some cases, it’s a family firm and they can’t change members of the board. But more often than not, we’ve found that it works, particularly when you bring it down to the dollars and cents.”

Mobius highlights that the inclusion of women on boards shouldn’t be viewed as a smokescreen. He explains: “Women have a different view and different insights that men simply don’t have. It also provides an example to staff and customers that the company cares for women and, in many cases, you have a consumer products company, and most of the customers are women. It’s an example of diversity that you have to take into account.”

With years of experience, the celebrated emerging markets expert says that if he were to offer one piece of advice to an entrepreneur looking to grow their brand, it would be to listen.

“Listen and learn,” he says. “This the reason why Shatranj is in such a good place, because they’re here, they’re in the region, they are listening to what other people in the region are doing and saying. He concludes: “Listen to your customers, and your potential customers. Listen carefully, study them and act on the basis of what you’ve learned. That’s really number one.”