New dawn Arises for ex-finance minister
Nene appointed to the driver’s seat of three-month-old investment firm
CAPE Town investment firm Arise yesterday appointed former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene as the head of its board of directors. The company said Nene would take over the board from today and use his experience to drive the three-month-old company into the future.
The investment firm, which came into being in February this year, already has combined assets of $637 million (R8.4m), with its maiden deal, an acquisition of a 27.7% stake in CAL Bank in Ghana, concluded the same month.
“We are excited to have someone of Mr Nene’s calibre on our board, and are grateful that he chose to accept the appointment,” Arise chief executive Deepak Malik said. “Mr Nene’s extensive financial experience and background in the public and private investment sector will be invaluable in helping Arise to successfully deliver on its mandate of building strong and stable financial institutions on the continent.”
Nene was fired from his cabinet position by President Jacob Zuma in December 2015 in a move that rattled the markets and led to a free fall of the rand.
He was subsequently replaced with little-known Des van Rooyen, who lasted only for a weekend before being replaced himself by Pravin Gordhan, who was also fired in March.
Since his sacking, Nene has taken various private sector jobs, including a non-executive director position on the board of Allan Gray and as resident adviser to the Thebe Investment Corporation.
Arise was founded by three cornerstone investors – the Norwegian private equity firm Norfund, and Dutch banks, Rabobank and FMO.
The firm said its sole mandate was to invest long-term in local banks in Africa to make banking more accessible to people.
The firm said it also wanted to grow the financial services sector to encourage economic growth and job creation through strengthening and building robust banks.
Malik said Arise would also strengthen and develop effective, inclusive financial systems in Africa to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.
He said Nene was the best candidate to assist the company to reach its goals.
“We are looking forward to Mr Nene’s strategic contribution to the board and we trust that this role will enable him to make the contribution that we believe he is capable of making, while at the same time advancing his own professional aspirations,” said Malik.
Nene said he was happy to continue his journey into the business world with Arise.
“It gives me great pleasure to serve on the Arise board and be part of their business journey. With the support of its shareholders, Norfund, Rabobank and FMO, Arise is uniquely placed to advance the financial services sector on the African continent and I look forward to contributing to its success,” said Nene.