Mianzo to launch R100m SME fund
• Asset manager is partnering with incubator Black Umbrellas to help emerging entrepreneurs
Mianzo Asset Management, which is one of only a handful of black asset managers in Cape Town, plans to raise R100m for a new debt fund it has launched with Black Umbrellas, an incubator focused on black-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Mianzo Asset Management, which is one of only a handful of black asset managers in Cape Town, plans to raise R100m for a new debt fund it has launched with Black Umbrellas, an incubator focused on black-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to help emerging entrepreneurs gain access to growth capital.
The Cape Town-based firm and Black Umbrellas have started raising capital for the fund, which will provide loans to 51% black-owned SMEs based in SA and will be known as the Black Umbrellas Mianzo SME Debt Fund.
The fund will be managed by Sifiso Simelane, head of alternative investments at Mianzo, who has extensive experience in financing broad-based BEE transactions after having worked at the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), the WDB Growth Fund and Kiwendo Capital Partners.
“By investing in the fund, corporate investors will earn Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) points on their B-BBEE scorecards,” said Luvo Tyandela, founder and portfolio manager at Mianzo Asset Management.
“Furthermore, development finance institutions, pension and retirement funds that invest in the fund will be able to contribute to investments that stimulate the economy and job creation.”
Mianzo, whose name means “new beginnings” in Swahili, has about R8bn in assets under management. While more than 99% of that amount represents institutional capital, the company told the Financial Mail in January that it planned to grow its retail portfolio to about 5% of assets by 2025 and between 20% and 25% by 2030, by tapping new flows from lowerincome consumers and the emerging black middle class.
SMEs that qualify for funding from the new Black Umbrellas Mianzo SME Debt Fund will receive technical business skills as well as assistance on how to integrate into existing supply chains. Black Umbrellas alone has incubated more than 2,200 black-owned SMEs, which have in turn created and preserved more than 12,000 jobs since 2006.
Tyandela said Mianzo itself was a recipient of the National Empowerment Fund’s Imbewu Fund in 2012, so it has first-hand experience in understanding the needs of emerging SMEs. The company will also draw on its experience in managing its Solar PV Fund, which like the Black Umbrellas Mianzo SME Debt Fund is an unlisted portfolio managed on Mianzo’s Alternative Platform.
“The Solar PV Fund has invested R113m in solar photovoltaic plants since 2017, enabling implementation of green energy and creation of jobs,” said Tyandela.
The success rate of SMEs improves dramatically if they have access to funding and are integrated into supply chains via confirmed offtake agreements as this reduces the chance of them defaulting on their loans.
Mark Frankel, CEO of Black Umbrellas, said a recent study by the Shell Foundation and the Omidyar Network found that funds that provided technical assistance to SMEs in emerging markets helped them grow their revenues by 44%.
“The combination of financial and nonfinancial support will be invaluable in helping to accelerate and scale emerging suppliers within corporate supply chains in these challenging times,” said Frankel. “We need to build local, resilient risk-mitigated supply chains and the Black Umbrellas Mianzo SME Debt Fund will be a key enabler in ensuring this happens.”
THE FUND WILL BE MANAGED BY SIFISO SIMELANE, HEAD OF ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS AT MIANZO