“An experienced Private Equity investor can be a very useful partner who brings in more than just money”
This was one among many of the nuggets shared by practitioners from I&M Burbidge Capital (IMBC), I&M Bank, IFC Africa, Ethos Private Equity, RSM East Africa, Walker Kontos and ISBI Institute @ Strathmore (ISBI) with participants that attended the Capital Raising seminar held at the Strathmore Business School (SBS) between the 21st and 22nd of June. The event was organised by IMBC and ISBI.
Participants of the seminar included business owners and C-Suite executives, from medium and large sized businesses in the region, who gleaned valuable insights from leading academic & industry practitioners on the capital raising process. The first day of the seminar begun with a relatable and insightful overview of the process delivered by Edward Burbidge, the CEO of I&M Burbidge Capital. Next was A deep dive into valuation methodologies and their applicability, presented by Suncan Pavlovic, the Managing Director at ISBI and Jharna Kamdar, a valuation expert and Senior Consultant at IMBC. After a hearty lunch break, the class got a comprehensive glimpse into the legal due diligence process and transaction documentation from Michael Kontos, a Partner at premier law firm, Walker Kontos. The day was capped by an exhilarating presentation on negotiation, including a live case study, delivered by Suncan Pavlovic of ISBI.
The second day begun with a breakfast and networking session followed by a detailed and highly insightful presentation into tax and business structuring delivered by Ashif Kassam, the Executive Chairman at RSM Eastern Africa. This session was followed by presentations on sources of finance which were kicked off by Stephen Kimwele, Head of Corporate Banking at I&M Bank who gave an overview on the bank’s innovative and competitive corporate products. Manuel Moses, IFC Country Manager for Kenya and South Sudan, then delivered a comprehensive look into funding from Development Finance Institutions and particularly, the IFC’s offering in the region. The focus on sources of finance was capped by Ngalaah Chuphi, Partners at Ethos – one of the largest African Private Equity and Mezzanine Finance firms, who delivered an insightful lecture into Private Equity and Mezzanine Finance, oft misunderstood sources of finance in the region. The climax of the seminar was the Panel discussion on early stage and social impact investing. The panel included leading investors and investees: Sarah Ngamau, CEO of CREADEV Kenya; Wilmot Allen, Partner with RH Managers; Rita Odero, Senior Investment Officer at Grofin; Asif Noorani, Investment Associate at Fanisi Capital; Karen Waithaka, Director at Ertan Consulting; Tony Kuchio, Co-founder of Buymore and Ezanna Asefa, CEO at AfriKash. The seminar was then capped with a well deserved awarding of certificates and networking Cocktail.
I&M Burbidge Capital was pleased to have worked with ISBI Institute @ Strathmore to deliver a worthwhile and valuable experience to all the participants. We are also grateful to our sponsors, I&M Bank and RSM Eastern Africa, for their invaluable support. We look forward to working with ISBI to deliver more insightful events to the business community in the region in the not too distant future. Below is a collage of the scenes at the seminar.”