The Abraaj Group, a private equity investor operating in global growth markets, has exited through one of its Funds, an investment in ECCO Outsourcing, a business process outsourcing (BPO) and contact center outsourcing (CCO) company in Egypt.

Abraaj sold its stake to Saham Services, a subsidiary of the Saham Group.

Abraaj invested in ECCO Outsourcing in 2013, meaning that the holding period for this company was less than two years - quite short for the private equity.

Abraaj declined to comment on the exit.

"During the investment period, Abraaj supported the growth of the business whereby ECCO Outsourcing’s headcount grew from 2,500 to over 3,000 agents across four operational hubs and the Company expanded its client base, portfolio of services and developed new outsourcing sites," the private equity firm said in a statement.

"Abraaj further enabled ECCO to significantly improve its corporate governance framework, as well as its focus on environmental and social impact with several programs and initiatives underway."

Established in 2002, ECCO Outsourcing offers multi-channel CCO, BPO, customer relationship management (CRM) services, human resource outsourcing, IT outsourcing and training services.

The company has grown to become one of Egypt’s leading BPO firms, employing over 3,000 employees across its delivery centres in Egypt and Qatar.

ECCO enjoys a diversified services portfolio and solid client base, including a number of regional blue chip organizations across a broad range of industry verticals including telecoms, government, financial services, automotive and FMCG.

In 2012, The Abraaj Capital Group has made a substantial investment in the capital of Saham Finances ($ 125m or 18.8% of the capital).

This participation also enables to support the implementation of the Group's ambitious growth plans in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East.

Abraaj Capital brings its expertise and its network towards the development of the Group, by taking part in actively in Saham Finances' BoD.