Ventures Investment Philosophy — The PHARO Framework

P – Permanent Capital

We are a long-term investor with no exit horizon. Our capital is committed for the life of the venture, enabling patient growth and reinvestment.

H – Hands-On

We actively build and operate our ventures. We’re not passive funders – we roll up our sleeves, stay close to the business, and co-own delivery.

A – Aligned to Mission

All ventures must reflect Pharo’s purpose, values, and identity. They are mission-driven enterprises that reinforce our strategic priorities.

R – Replicable & Simple

We prioritise models that are focused, scalable, and operationally simple. Complexity dilutes impact and increases risk.

O – Ownership & Control

We retain governance and operational control. This ensures alignment, accountability, and the ability to course correct. Operational efficiency is a key outcome of clear ownership.

Pharo Ventures + The Pharo Ecosystem 

Pharo Ventures are part of Pharo Foundation, a mission-led, impact driven organization that designs, funds and operates economic development projects across Ethiopia, Somaliland, Rwanda and Kenya. The objective of the Foundation, which is financed by global investment firm Pharo Management, is to accelerate economic development in Africa. Hence the overall Pharo ecosystem embodies profit with purpose, as it cuts across the non-profit to for-profit spectrum. Within this ecosystem, the function of Pharo Ventures is to achieve the development of a dynamic and profitable African private sector.  

The Pharo ecosystem allows Ventures to leverage the 24 years of for-profit experience of Pharo Management and the 13 years of non-profit experience of Pharo Foundation –some of the Foundation’s non-profit activities are in the same sector as some Ventures projects, i.e. in health and agriculture.  

Belonging to the Pharo ecosystem also ensures that Pharo Ventures are more than typical commercial enterprises. It provides a built-in guarantee of social impact, better than any ESG certification. The Foundation is set on investing in social enterprises on the basis of their potential for employment and value added, while their profits stay in their home countries. The Foundation invests in enterprises with a focus on building resilient, locally anchored businesses that can generate strong free cash flow and long-term economic value. These ventures are selected for their potential to create employment and drive value addition in underserved markets. Profits are retained in-country and either:

  • Reinvested into the same venture to support sustainable growth and operational resilience
  • Allocated to complimentary productivity programs that help unlock economic transformation goals
  • Used to support the operational and programmatic costs of local country offices

This capital recycling model ensures that financial returns are used to reinforce our mission: deepening impact, building institutional sustainability, and compounding value within the ecosystems we operate

Timelines + Major Milestones

Inception · 2021

In 2021, Pharo Ventures Somaliland set out to help rebuild Somaliland through job creation, adding economic value and developing skills. The first Somaliland Venture was split into two divisions:

  1. The Pharo Construction Limited (PCL) construction firm
  2. The ready-mix concrete (RMC) batching plant

Project Era · 2022-2024

From 2022-2024 PCL worked on many major construction projects including the reconstruction of Waheen Market and the building of Ijaara Dam. Alongside this, both PCL and RMC continued to support the consistent adding of infrastructure in Hargeisa in building schools, laying roads and supporting large scale projects such as the expansion of Hargeisa Airport.

The latest · 2025+

In 2025, we saw change in Somaliland and a new Venture in Ethiopia:

  • In Ethiopia, we opened a speciality seed oil factory, set to begin production and exports in summer 2025.
  • In Somaliland, our RMC team has gone from strength-to-strength, expanding its batching plant, turning a profit and pouring more concrete than ever. Meanwhile, our PCL team transformed into a machine rental business — providing high quality construction machines to the busy construction sector of Hargeisa.
  • A new Pharo Ventures CEO, Tom Mason, has affirmed Pharo Ventures' investment mandate and its commitment to building permanent, productive enterprises that deliver tangible financial returns and unlock broader economic value. He has also sharpened our focus on ventures that generate tangible value — in the form of wages, profits, and economic output — and has clarified that all ventures are majority-owned.