• First we target the region we believe offers the greatest cohesion and competitive advantages: east Africa;
• Second, we target the profile of company that offers the greatest potential: mid-size companies with a good working business model, constrained only by lack of access to properly-structured capital and management know-how but capable of rapid expansion;
• Third, we target the sectors we know the most about, which are “roomy” (not featuring much quality domestic competition), and offer unusually strong upside potential: the agricultural growth and food processing sectors, oilfield service and supply, and other targets of opportunity on a selected and carefully-screened basis;
• Fourth, we base ourselves mainly on the continent, close to where our investors’ capital is being put to work, with a quality team of both Africans and Americans;
• Fifth, we employ a carefully designed investment policy that makes use of the “Shareholder loan with royalty feature” for its attractive self-liquidating properties, and incorporates these other key elements:

Intense focus on investee management
AMMF’s paramount focus is on finding businesses whose competitive advantage is, above all other factors, the quality of their management. For reasons common to all developing markets, management capacity in the Sub-Saharan African countries is largely inadequate to the opportunities these countries offer. In many situations, good management itself is effectively a barrier to entry against competitors.   

Deep knowledge of the investee enterprise
In environments with weak and inefficient juridical systems, good faith and compliance with agreements are rarely ensured by threats of enforcement by local courts. Rather, mutual trust and interdependence are far more effective means of establishing transparent relationships in which investees feel compelled to compensate their investors fairly and as agreed.  

Identification of potential investments through wide networks
Through living in Africa, the fund managers possess wide networks far beyond the conventional resources to expand contact with potential investees. We can also capture value from donor organizations by targeting firms and sectors they have strengthened.