BlueFive Capital, an investment platform founded by Hazem Ben-Gacem, officially launched today. Incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global Market and with offices initially in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and London, the firm is set to transform alternative investments in the region and throughout the Global South, undertaking consolidation plays in the financial services sector and prioritizing technology-driven solutions to build cross-regional champions across private wealth, insurance, public market and alternative asset management.
BlueFive Capital will focus on the GCC, Asia, and Latin America, high-growth markets that combine strong liquidity with significant economic momentum, through two parallel entities. BlueFive Financial will undertake consolidation opportunities in the fragmented financial services industry, combining individual players in a cohesive pan-regional platform and harnessing the power of expanded market size, automation and effective use of technology. Targeting investors and savers, BlueFive Financial will serve as a digitally-enabled financial solutions platform, providing seamless access to investment products and services across insurance, public capital markets, and wealth management, including private wealth liquidity solutions.
BlueFive Asset Management will undertake investments predominantly in the private equity and infrastructure sectors, prioritising businesses that yield the highest value creation through digitization and automation. BlueFive Financial is intended to serve as the primary funder for the Asset Management platform, which will launch next year.
BlueFive Capital is founded and led by Ben-Gacem, one of the longest-tenured private equity investors from the Middle East. Until recently Ben-Gacem was the co-CEO of Investcorp, the Middle East’s largest non-sovereign asset manager. During his 30-year tenure at Investcorp, Ben-Gacem chaired most of its private equity investment committees, led many of its investment teams globally and undertook more than 40 of the firm’s private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including several flagship unicorn exits. Under his leadership, assets under management at Investcorp grew from $10 billion to more than $50 billion today. He also spearheaded the firm’s expansion into Asia, including Southeast Asia, Singapore, China and Japan.
Hazem Ben-Gacem, Founder and Executive Officer of BlueFive Capital, said: “We set out to create BlueFive Capital with a different mindset and approach to investing. We aim to provide savers, retirees, wealth managers and their advisers the most digitally-native and innovative investment platform across thriving emerging economies, unlocking dynamic, regionally-based opportunities with the goal of generating attractive returns by means of consolidation, scale efficiency and the deployment of technology. We believe our approach will contribute to a new era of investing, benefiting all our stakeholders, including the communities we serve.
About BlueFive Capital
BlueFive Capital is an alternative investment platform that will invest creatively in growing regional economies across private equity and infrastructure, and harnesses technology to build cross regional champions through financial services sector consolidation, with the goal of transforming traditional financial models and fostering sustainable growth.
Incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the firm will provide strategic exposure to sectors that will define the next generation of economic growth and development through two parallel entities:
- BlueFive Financial, a permanent capital vehicle whose goal is to consolidate parts of the financial services industry across insurance, private wealth and public markets, and
- BlueFive Asset Management, a closed-end fund structure offering dedicated investment funds across private equity and infrastructure.
BlueFive Capital is founded and led by Hazem Ben-Gacem, one of the longest-tenured private equity investors. A group of 15 founding shareholders from across the world, including BlueFive Capital’s areas of interest – the GCC, Southeast Asia and Latin America – will play an active advisory role in guiding management on the development of the company.
About Hazem Ben-Gacem
Hazem Ben-Gacem has more than 30 years of experience in leading private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China. He was Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer until September 2024, chairing most of its private equity investment committees and overseeing all Investcorp’s activities in the Middle East, its infrastructure and technology investments globally, as well as all private equity activities across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Japan.
A Tunisian national, Hazem holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and serves on the Executive Boards of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and St. Anthony’s College at Oxford University. In 2017 he founded the Harvard Office in Tunisia, the first formal presence for Harvard in the Arab world.