ALC identifies untapped opportunities in the economy

Fund manager, Africa Lighthouse Capital ( ALC) says more business opportunities remain untapped in the private equity turf for local pension funds to consider.

ALC has identified over 100 investment opportunities in already existing companies, fitting their model of investment, which is value creation on any identified investment target, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of P7 million.

“There is a significant scope to invest in Botswana,” said ALC Chief Executive Officer, Bame Pule, adding that the market has more companies that can benefit from private equity funding to create new jobs for the economy, adding that, “there is a tremendous amount of opportunities in Botswana.” Pule further cites that ALC wants to help companies reach their full potential.

Though currently managing a private equity portfolio of P531 million and Botswana Public Officers Pensions Fund ( BPOPF) as the cornerstone investor, has poured P500 million into the fund, Pule believes his company needs P8 billion to pursue opportunities on the market.

“The money ( P531 million) that we have is not enough to invest in all the opportunities. We are looking for more pension funds to invest in us. Private equity is an opportunity for pension funds to help economies to grow. The pension funds need to understand our skills for value creation,” said Pule.

ALC is targeting unlisted companies and oozes with passion to grow entrepreneur culture and corporatize family businesses.

“We are an investor across the sectors of Botswana and we do not do primary agriculture, mining, oil and gas, since the revenues are driven by commodity markets, but are open to discuss deals in the processing part of the sectors, after extraction. We are long- term equity partners, interacting with management frequently and seeing what is happening in companies that we have invested in, in real- time,” said Pule.

He cited that ALC is an active investor with a shareholding seat on companies that they invest in. Existence of ALC is slowly responding to national cry out for capital to assist growth of local business, as the economy seeks to move from a middle income economy to a high end economy.

Founded in 2012, ALC is focused on investing in growth- stage and maturestage unlisted businesses. “No startups,” emphasized Pule.

Last year, ALC bought shares in Minet Botswana, through a joint venture with Minet Group after complying with all regulatory requirements to acquire Aon’s shareholding in Aon Botswana. In 2020, the company made another investment in Financial Services Group ( FSG).