TravelWise in partnership with citizen consortium

Staff Writer | Wednesday September 10, 2008 00:00

 

The majority of the remaining shares are held by South African investment giant Bidvest.
'We are delighted with this investment into TravelWise and Rennies Foreign Exchange in partnership with Bidvest,' said Kabelo Binns, spokesman for the citizen consortium.

Binns, who is also a shareholder in Oganne, said the newly established consortium invested into the tourism sector because of its growth potential, especially with the advent of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Bidvest is the owner of many leading brands such as Bidvest Bank, which controls Rennies Foreign Exchange.

The Group also owns Rennies Travel and has a nominal shareholding in Comair, which is negotiating with government to manage the flag carrier Air Botswana. Other companies include Bidair, one of the three airport operators in South Africa, McCarthy and Steiner.  
'Bidvest is an incredibly large and successful group that presents many opportunities for us to partner with in the future,' Binns said.

'TravelWise has been the leader in its sector for many years, and we hope that with our investment and insights in the sector, we can continue to grow the business. We are confident that the market will react positively to the new shareholding structure.

'Having more citizen participation in our business has always been our goal,' said the Managing Director of TravelWise, Fred McDonald.

'We are fortunate that we were able to find a citizen consortium that is like-minded in its view of the opportunities in Botswana.'

This move by TravelWise is in line with Government's desire to see more Batswana participating in the tourism sector, the statement said.