The Firm & Impact

Mscale was founded in 2022, for the purpose of establishing venture capital and private equity funds in the Caribbean, Africa and other emerging markets. 

Today, Mscale provides venture capital (VC), private equity (PE) and permanent capital (PC) to start-up, early stage and scalable companies. It is dedicated to optimizing returns to its Limited Partners and managing portfolio risk.

The operating team has a successful track record in VC, PE and PC fund management, cutting-edge technology and entrepreneurship.  The team also has deep knowledge of Jamaica, the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and North America with respect to proprietary opportunities and investors. 

It has incorporated the Caribbean Venture Capital Fund I (“CVCF”) and its General Partner, the Caribbean Mscale General Partner (“CMGP”) to invest growth capital into early stage, scalable and investment-ready SMEs across the Caribbean.

The fund team is based in Kingston, Jamaica with a satellite office in Atlanta, Georgia, focused primarily on investor relations. Mscale is investing 2% into every transaction done by the Fund.

Proven Track Record

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Years of Experience

Vision and Mission

Vision

Establish and grow a high return, high impact venture capital fund for the caribbean

Mission

Create an ecosystem of regionally scalable companies

Diverse businessmen using laptop together, african coworker showing something at laptop screen

Impact

Mscale’s impact investing strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and UN Women Economic Empowerment Principles. With significant gender equity & diversity amongst the team, Mscale is also aligned with DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative. 

Women make up 60% of senior management and decision-making in Mscale.

Mscale has a large impact track record in Africa and has started its journey to drive impact in the Caribbean.

Jobs Created
MSMEs Received Access To Training
Beneficiaries
MSMEs Grants distributed
MSMEs Were Trained In Business Management Skills
Locals Were Trained In Various Artisan Skills
Consulting Firms Trained To Deliver Technical Services To MSMEs

Lisandra Rickards

Technical Assistance Committee

Lisandra is an Executive Coach with a background in economics and investments. She is CEO of a professional development company and has in her career coached over 220 entrepreneurs.

She has MBA with honors from Harvard Business School, and a B.A. in Economics with honors from the University of Chicago

Sandra Glasgow

Technical Assistance Committee

Sandra is the Founder and Managing Director of BizTactics Limited, a consulting company dedicated to mentoring growth-aspiring firms and promoting best-in-class corporate governance in the Caribbean. She is an Angel Investor having personally invested in 11 local companies and is a Co-Founder of Jamaica’s first Angel Investor Network, FirstAngelsJA. She is the Founder of the Technology Innovation Centre, Jamaica’s first technology business Incubator, at the University of Technology, Jamaica. A graduate of the University of the West Indies, she holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, with a specialisation in the Management of Technology.

Sharon Roper

Investment Committee

Sharon has strong marketing and business strategy design and execution. She offers strong experience in brand development, digital strategy and market research, investment thesis and strategy development.

Sharon holds a graduate Diploma in Business Studies and Finance from Suffolk College, University of East Anglia and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM).

Dami Doherty

Investment Committee

Dami has strong venture capital experience with several years of deal origination and investing in early-stage technology companies in West Africa.

She also has strong experience in transaction structuring and negotiation, investment analysis and market research, investment thesis and strategy development.

Paul Hanworth

Chief Operating Officer

Paul Hanworth has deep experience in strategy formulation, transaction structuring and negotiation, and investment analysis. He worked for the last 15 years with a prominent Jamaican investment and real estate group, where he led a number of corporate acquisitions. He is a founder member of Jamaica’s first Angel Investor Network, and is a director of two angel-backed entities and several other public and private companies.

Paul has lived in Jamaica for 25 years, spanning both executive roles with local conglomerates and establishing, running and exiting his own fine wine import company. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and holds a Masters degree in Classics from Cambridge University’s Sidney Sussex College.

Tanice Brown

Senior Associate

Tanice Brown is a senior advisory associate with an extensive background in Transaction Deals.

Her background and speciality extending from her tenure at PwC Jamaica is in financial modelling, due diligence and valuations. Tanice holds a BSc. in Actuarial Science.

David Roberts

Chief Technology Officer

David Roberts is an experienced technology executive with over 30 years of experience leading the assessment, development, and delivery of cutting-edge technology systems. As CTO of Mscale LLC and CEO of Transform Affinity, David brings a powerful network of technology and business experts across the largest commercial companies, government agencies, and the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.

Ugo Ikemba

Chief Executive Officer

Ugo is a global investments executive with over 20 years of venture capital, private equity and impact investing experience for start-ups, early stage and mature companies. He has a wide network of strong relationships with the leadership of DFIs, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks, corporates in the US, UK and Africa. Ugo has a proven investment track record. His primary focus on all assignments is delivering superior results through innovation, project management, and building stakeholder alignment. He has been involved in the raising of 4 funds totaling over US$300 million.Regions he has covered in his career include Africa, North America, South America & Europe.