East Capital Awards 2025 – meet this year’s winners

Celebrating excellence in emerging markets: East Capital proudly presents the East Capital Awards 2025 winners – Diagnostyka, Inter&Co, Fawry and Laureate Education

Every year, the East Capital Awards highlight companies that redefine progress in emerging and frontier markets. These organisations turn ambition into impact through innovation, strong governance and a commitment to sustainable growth. In 2025, the winning portfolio companies reflect the diversity and momentum within East Capital’s investment universe, with operations across key emerging markets including Poland, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico and Peru.

Best IPO Award: Diagnostyka

Diagnostyka is Poland's leading medical laboratory company, enjoying a 22% market share compared to the second-largest player which has 9%. The company has seen compounded annualised revenue growth (CAGR) of 24% between 2011-2024. Diagnostyka aims to maintain a strong growth trajectory through organic expansion supported by strategic M&A activities. We participated in the IPO in February 2025, which came at a reasonable valuation. Helped by a buoyant Polish equity market, the company has surged by 98% since the IPO, generating significant alpha for our New Europe and Global Emerging Markets Sustainable funds.

Discovery of the Year Award: Inter&Co

Inter&Co is a Brazil-based bank that stands out as a rare example of a full transformation from a traditional bricks-and-mortar institution into a fully digital, asset-light fintech. Long overshadowed by larger peers like Nubank, Inter has quietly executed a disciplined expansion strategy that includes entry into the US market and a focus on underserved segments such as mortgages and payroll lending.

This has supported the company’s ambitious goal of reaching 60 million clients and a 30% return on equity (RoE) by 2027. Execution has been strong: earnings tripled in 2024 and are on track to grow at least 50% in 2025.

A sharp sell-off in 2024 provided an opportunity to enter the name at attractive valuations, since then the stock has surged back on to investors’ radars, returning 114% in USD year-to-date, generating significant alpha for our Global Emerging Market Sustainable fund. With a market cap of just under USD 4 billion, compared to Nubank’s USD 75 billion, and a user base of 40 million versus Nubank’s 100 million, Inter clearly has substantial runway, particularly if it can more effectively monetise its growing client base.

Best Growth Award: Fawry

Fawry is a leading fintech operating Egypt’s largest electronic payment network, founded in 2008. It provides financial services to consumers and businesses through more than 300,000 service points, including ATMs, retail shops and digital channels. Its platform enables bill payments and mobile top-ups as well as financial services like microloans and insurance. In recent years, Fawry has become a key driver of financial inclusion in Egypt, serving millions who lack access to traditional banking. Listed since 2019, Fawry has grown into one of the country’s most valuable fintech companies and after having doubled net income during H1 2025, the stock has rallied more than 80% this year generating significant alpha for our frontier markets fund. Given we expect earnings to compound at over 40% CAGR in the coming years, the name remains a core holding in our Global Frontier Markets fund.

Best Corporate Governance Award: Laureate Education

Laureate Education is the largest private higher education provider in Mexico and Peru, both are underpenetrated markets, with only 36% of Mexicans entering higher education, 47% of Laureate’s 472,000 students are first-generation. Under CEO Eilif Serck-Hanssen, the company has transformed from a sprawling, leveraged global operator into a focused, efficient business, with best-in-class capital allocation discipline driving a 30% return on invested capital. Laureate also boasts a strong net cash balance sheet, excellent free cash flow generation and continues to post mid-teens EBITDA growth, thanks in part to its strong digital offerings and improving margins.

Since 2019, Laureate has used its strong free cash flow to return nearly USD 3 billion to shareholders, primarily through stock buybacks. These efforts have been appreciated by the market, with the stock price up 66% in 2025 and 122% since the beginning of 2024, while the Mexican index has remained broadly flat over the same period (in USD). Stock price performance has been supported by significantly improved investor relations efforts, as the management team dedicated more time to engaging with global investors.