Management takeover at Afena Capital
Brian Benza | Friday June 17, 2016 18:00
In a transaction that is still before regulators, the local management team is acquiring an additional 51% in the Botswana firm from South African parent company, Afena Capital. “We are excited about the opportunities available for Afena Capital Botswana with these changes within our firm.
This enhances our business and achieves the desired effect of ensuring that Batswana citizens will hold majority of the proposed shareholding acquired,” said managing director Bakang Seretse.
Presently, Afena Capital Botswana is owned 51% by South Africa’s Afena Capital, 42% by management of Afena Capital Botswana, who are are all Botswana citizens, and seven percent by Afena Capital Botswana Staff Share Trust.
The asset management firm started operations in Botswana about four years ago with Seretse as managing director, Alphonse Ndzinge (Chief Investment Officer) and Sharifa Noor (chief operations officer).
Post the transaction, the founding partner of the Cape Town-based Afena Capital Group, Tebogo Naledi will step down as chairman of the Botswana unit.
“Afena Capital was one of the first black asset management firms in South Africa, and we are proud to have once more demonstrated our transformation purpose by supporting a transaction that creates a Botswana citizen majority owned company,” said Naledi.
Afena Capital Botswana is one of the three fund mangement firms that won lucrative new mandates from the Botswana Public Officers Pensions Fund (BPOPF) two years ago.
In its four years of operation, the company has accumulated Assets Under Management (AUM) of about P4 billion from 18 clients ranging from pension funds, corporates, government, welfare and private clients.
The Afena Capital Botswana team has over 35 years combined experience in the Botswana asset management industry in various roles including investment management, client management and business operations management.