Max Hage is a principal-led independent sponsor focused on healthcare and hospitality across East Africa and the Horn of Africa.
We are an independent sponsor — investing deal by deal, alongside trusted co-investors, without a committed fund. Built on operating experience, not just capital.
Every deal is led personally by the Managing Partner. No analysts making calls on your business. The person you meet is the person who decides.
We have founded, built, and exited businesses in the sectors we invest in. We bring operating experience to every transaction, not only capital.
We raise capital for specific opportunities through dedicated SPVs. Our partners commit to deals they understand, not to a blind pool.
We focus on founder-owned businesses at the growth and pre-institutional stage — where our capital, our network, and our operating experience create conditions for a transaction that would otherwise not occur.
Healthcare and hospitality only. Not because we cannot see opportunity elsewhere — but because depth of knowledge in two sectors is worth more than surface coverage of ten.
Our deal flow comes from fifteen years of operating relationships across East Africa and the Horn. We see opportunities that don't reach the market.
We invest with board representation, reporting discipline, and reserved matters as standard. Strong governance protects founders and investors alike.
From day one, we work with management to build a business that institutional buyers will want. The exit is planned before the investment is made.
We invest only where we have operated. Sector knowledge is not a supplement to our investment thesis — it is the thesis.
Rising middle-class utilisation, insurance penetration, and the shift from public to private delivery are creating a generation of investable healthcare businesses across the region. We know this market from the inside — as founders, operators, and now as investors.
Coffee, food and beverage, and premium consumer brands in corporate, institutional, and high-traffic environments. Eight years of building and operating in demanding Nairobi settings is the foundation of our hospitality thesis.
Each transaction is structured through a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle. Limited partners commit to specific opportunities — not to a blind pool.
Deal sourced through operating network. Initial assessment and investment thesis formed.
Dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle incorporated. Co-investors presented with a specific opportunity.
Capital deployed. Board seat established. Governance, reporting, and value creation programme activated.
Business prepared for institutional acquisition. Returns distributed to co-investors after carry and preferred return.
We are always open to conversations with founders considering a transaction, co-investors looking for deal flow in East African healthcare and hospitality, and limited partners interested in the independent sponsor model.
All enquiries are reviewed personally by the Managing Partner.