Samena Capital’s founder and vice‑chairman Shirish Saraf warned that leverage and financial engineering are poor substitutes for sound business judgment in volatile markets, emphasizing the need for structures that can weather unpredictable political, currency and exit environments.
From early private‑equity work to a regional investment platform
Saraf began his finance career in India after studies at Charterhouse, Cambridge and the London School of Economics. At 23 he joined a joint venture between 3i and ANZ, the first overseas private‑equity fund in India, with a modest $13 million capital base that was then the largest of its kind in the country.
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Four years in India followed by three in Bahrain taught him to rely on access, trust and a willingness to handle local complexity rather than solely on auction methods.
By the late 1990s he participated in the $116 million acquisition of Inchcape’s Middle‑East marketing businesses, a deal described as the region’s first private‑equity buyout. In 2002 he co‑founded Abraaj Capital with Arif Naqvi, an LSE alumnus, despite early skepticism that an Indian and a Pakistani could succeed in Dubai’s private‑equity market. The firm grew to manage over $6 billion before its collapse in 2018, a downfall that highlighted the risks of over‑leveraged structures.
Samena Capital’s strategy and performance
Launching Samena in 2008 as the global financial crisis unfolded, Saraf secured about $300 million in commitments before the crash and closed the first fund at $180 million, raising the capital in less than three weeks.
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The firm now manages roughly $274 million, having raised more than $1.3 billion since its inception and returned about $1 billion to investors from over 50 exits.
Recent shifts and future outlook
Since the pandemic, Samena has downsized and refocused. The third fund, launched in 2017 with initial commitments of about $322 million, was trimmed to $182 million, and the London office was reduced in importance after Brexit and COVID‑related travel constraints.
Saraf says his main stories now are in India and Sri Lanka, where performance remains strong.
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Beyond finance, he has pursued personal projects, notably restoring the 1906 yacht Kalizma, once owned by film stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. He bought the vessel at a 2019 auction after finding it in disrepair in Sri Lanka, adding a touch of maritime history to his portfolio of interests.
Looking ahead, Saraf acknowledges that the era of low interest rates is ending, making exits and capital returns more challenging. He emphasizes deciding where not to be, limiting debt, and exercising patience as the guiding principles for handling the evolving private‑equity environment in emerging markets.
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