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African Polo Extravaganza strikes again in London

August 7, 2019

Europe’s foremost African polo event graced London for the second time today at the prestigious Ham Polo Club, hosting a glamorous crowd of polo aficionados and those celebrating the style and joie de vivre of African culture.

A sea of well-heeled guests, mostly head to toe in African inspired finery, proudly strutted one of the oldest polo clubs in the United Kingdom, to the soundtrack of Afrobeats and Fela Kuti, as Lux Afrique firmly marked its territory as the go-to annual African polo day.

Being so much more than a sporting event, but a celebration of African refinement and sense of occasion, the Lux Afrique Polo Day offered a myriad of attractions, all adding to the glamour and fun of the day. Fine dining of exquisite African cuisine was provided to guests courtesy of Waakye Leaf. The event also featured a shopping lounge in which deluxe brands, Backes & Strauss, Montegrappa, and Yoko London, showcased their finest products.

The Polo itself was a thrilling affair with two opposing teams with similar handicaps battling it out in front of a captivated crowd, who paused their mingling and revelry to enjoy the spectacle.

The match was opened by Lux Afrique founder Alexander Amosu alongside the Director of The Sofa and Chair Company.

Team Africa was narrowly defeated by Team Rudo – aka The Rest of the World – 4/3. The honor of ‘Most Valued Player’ was awarded to British born Louise Brown, who plays polo both in the UK and Argentina, while the title of ‘Best Playing Pony’ was awarded to Illuminado.

After the match closing, and the prize-giving – which of course involved the traditional spraying of champagne – the crowd voted on the pick for ‘Best Dressed’ at the event. While the competition was stiff, given the abundance of fashionably dressed attendees, a ‘best-dressed man’ and a ‘best-dressed woman’ was selected.

With the match game and set, the guests proceeded to enjoy themselves in true African spirit, as they danced the rest of the afternoon away to the live band, fronted by Nigerian legend Dele Sosimi.

The Lux Afrique Polo Day was fortunate to have exceptional partners, that included Remy Martin, Corinthia London, Artisan du Chocolat, FIJI Water, and the esteemed Val de Vie Events. Media Partners also included BET, Channels TV, Beat FM, Polo Lifestyle and Magazine and Elite Living Africa, and The Outside Organisation.

Lux Afrique used the occasion to shine a spotlight on a worthy charitable cause – Malaika – an initiative to bring education, water, and health to the poorest communities in the Congo. In 2011 Malaika opened a school in the DRC, which today provides an education to over 300 girls. The charity was set up by Congolese model and humanitarian Noëlla Coursaris Musunka who seeks to help communities “escape gender inequality, poverty, and lack of education that currently restricts their choices”. Attendees were encouraged to donate generously to Malaika on the day, and thereafter

Lux Afrique is a lifestyle and concierge company catering to UHNW across Africa, as well as a luxury multimedia platform for marketing and promoting luxury brands, targeting an audience on the African continent. It introduces luxury-focused brands to the high net- worth consumer markets growing throughout Africa, through a number of means, including high profile events, such as the Lux Afrique Annual Polo Day.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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Fitch Affirms AAA Rating for African Development Bank

July 29, 2019

The Fitch rating, of the African Development Bank, published 24th July in London, is affirmed as AAA, with a stable outlook, on improved assessments, qualifications, and estimates. The rating provides a significant boost for the Bank at a time when it is discussing a substantial general capital increase to finance its strategy and activities over the next few years.

Fitch Ratings is one of the leading global providers of credit ratings, commentary and research. The agency upgraded the intrinsic assessment to ‘aa’ from the previous ‘aa’-driven by an improvement in Fitch’s assessment of the Bank’s business environment.

The Bank’s ‘aaa’ support from its shareholders was based on Fitch’s forecasts that the Bank’s net debt will be fully covered by callable capital from ‘AAA’ rated member countries by 2021.

The projection assumes shareholder approval of an increase in subscribed capital from 2020, and lending growth averaging 7% year on year in 2019-2021.

Other key points from the Fitch rating include the following:

The Bank’s solvency assessment of ‘aa’ primarily reflects its ‘strong’ capitalization.
The equity to asset and guarantees ratio remains within the ‘strong’ range.
Fitch’s usable capital to risk-weighted assets (FRA) ratio, newly introduced, was just below the threshold for an ‘excellent’ assessment (35%) at end-2018 and is likely to be ‘excellent’ in 2019.
The overall risk is rated as ‘low’, with risk management policies seen as conservative and assessed as ‘excellent’.
Concentration risk is considered ‘low’ and has benefited from the Exchange Exposure Agreement with other development finance organizations.
Equity participation is expected to remain below 5% of the banking portfolio by 2021, in line with the internal limit of 15% of risk capital.
FX and interest rate risks are very limited and conservatively managed.
The liquidity assessment is ‘aaa’ and the quality of liquid assets is ‘excellent’.
The Bank’s business environment now translates into no negative adjustment (from a one-notch negative adjustment previously) to the improved intrinsic rating, which reflects a stronger assessment of the bank’s strategy to ‘medium’ risk from ‘high’ risk.
The Bank’s outlook is rated as Stable.

As the Fitch rating states, the process for a General Capital Increase (GCI-VII) is expected to be completed by end-2019, including a final agreement on its amount.

The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina welcomed the assessment and said, “I am delighted by the affirmation of the AAA rating as well as the accompanying explanations, which clearly explain the solid and comprehensive reasons for the overall improvements in the intrinsic rating, as well as the ‘extraordinary support’ we receive from our shareholders. It is a massive boost for the Bank to be encouraged so strongly in the year of the General Capital Increase and with so much hard evidence provided.”

He added that “It is also a tribute to all our stakeholders, partners, and those who have been working at and with the Bank during this past year. Fitch’s rating is not just about our credit; it speaks volumes for the Bank’s solid achievements, consistent strategy, development impact, leadership, and overall direction.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

VC Firm Antler Has Invested €5.4 million In 44 New Startups In Just Six MonthS, Looking For More

July 10, 2019

For startups looking for funding, Antler VC appears undeterred in its quest to invest in as many new global startups as possible. In fact, the VC has set a goal to generate a total of 100 to 150 new startups around the world by the end of the year.

Since the end of 2018, the startup generator and early-stage VC has invested €5.4 million into launching 44 global startups. After receiving 13,000 applications for its programme, Antler selected over 450 individuals to participate and become startup founders.

A Look At Antler Venture Capital Firm

Since launching its first program in Singapore in 2018, Antler has expanded to eight locations, including Stockholm, New York, London, Amsterdam, Oslo, Sydney, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa.
Two programmes take place annually in each city, and in the first phase, successful startups receive $100k to $150k in funding from Antler for a minority equity stake.
Startups then leverage Antler’s global platform to expand and easily scale into other markets.
Aspiring entrepreneurs can apply now to join cohorts in Amsterdam, London, Oslo, Stockholm, Singapore, Sydney, New York, and Nairobi.

“In just six months, Antler has enabled hundreds of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to create outstanding companies that are already positively impacting global and local economies with the next wave of technology,” said Magnus Grimeland, founder and CEO of Antler. “What can take a young startup months and years to accomplish in a new market we can accelerate significantly with our experienced team and advisers. We are well on our way to becoming the number one platform for entrepreneurs globally by becoming a truly global company ourselves, however, our journey is only just beginning.”

Read Also: How International Organisations Are Helping Startups In Africa

Here Are Some Of The Startups Antler Has Invested In

Antler’s successful startups now operate across 15 different industries including fintech, space-tech, robotics, and health tech.

Here are some exciting examples of the startup’s Antler has funded so far:

SkyQraft, a system providing affordable and safe infrastructure inspections using drones and AI to detect risks to power lines. These risks are increasing because of the impact of global warming which has resulted in more forest fires and power outages around the world.
Sampingan, a task-based workforce platform connecting organizations with freelance employees in Indonesia. The startup recently secured $500k from Golden Gate Ventures. Since it was founded, the company has on-boarded 20,000 agents across 140,000 projects. As well, in seven months, the company’s value has gone up ten times.
Soma Sketch, a health tech app that allows patients to communicate mental and physical health symptoms by writing and drawing how their body feels. The app will help identify risks, educate users on their health and generate anonymous data for research.

One of Antler’s key missions is to break the barriers to entrepreneurship. Antler’s founders range from Cambridge graduates to self-made geniuses because, rather than focusing on individuals’ backgrounds, the team looks for applicants with spike, inner-drive and grit.

With programmes operating across five continents, Antler has already attracted an incredibly diverse range of people, with founding teams comprising over 50 nationalities.

The recruitment process has also generated strong female representation, particularly in the first European programme where 64% of the entrepreneurs presenting at the local demo day in June 2019 were women.

“In just three months, the Antler program has enabled Shamba to put together a team working across three continents by providing invaluable advice and pre-seed investment to our company in its early stages,” said Michael Wallis-Brown, founder and CEO of Shamba, a startup that is fighting world hunger by optimizing farming in Africa. “We simply could not have launched our platform in Kenya without the support of the Antler teams in Stockholm and Nairobi, under the guidance of the Antler Global team. With this support, together with introductions to key investors both in Europe and Kenya, we are set to grow exponentially, working collaboratively with local farmers to solve inequality and hunger on the African continent.”

How To Be Part of Antler’s Funded Startup Network

Since launching its first program in Singapore in 2018, Antler has expanded to eight locations, including Stockholm, New York, London, Amsterdam, Oslo, Sydney, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa.

Antler’s successful startups now operate across 15 different industries including fintech, space-tech, robotics, and health tech

To apply, visit Antler’s online application portal at https://www.antler.co/apply

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Airtel Africa Initiates IPO On The London Stock Exchange, Public Trading Still July 4

June 29, 2019

Airtel Africa has had its Initial Public Offering ( IPO ) in both London and Nigeria, but the real IPO, in which the general public may be able to buy Airtel’s shares begins from the 4th of July, 2019. Right now, it appears, Airtel Africa is selling to investors below what they were initially priced, on the London Stock Exchange.

Airtel’s stocks on the London Stock Exchange fell as much as 15 percent to 68p after Africa’s second-largest mobile operator listed on the London Stock Exchange, knocking £500m off its opening valuation to give it a market capitalization of around £2.6bn.

Here Are The Facts

The IPO is for institutional investors and high net worth individuals only
The general public may be able to deal in Airtel’s shares by July 4.
For the IPO, Airtel is backed by SoftBank an issuing house and had priced its initial offering at 80p per share, but this poor IPO in London saw the company perform below what it secured in two recent private funding rounds.
The African subsidiary of Indian telecoms giant Bharti Airtel had priced its shares at 80p, at the bottom of its previously announced 80–100p price range.
This means that its current valuation now stands at around £3.1bn (NGN 1.4 trillion or $3.9 billion). This is already significantly below the valuations implied by earlier funding rounds.
Airtel Africa secured $1.25bn from a consortium of investors including private equity house Warburg Pincus, Singapore’s Temasek, SoftBank and Singapore Telecommunications at a valuation of around $4.4bn, in October last year.
A $200m investment by the Qatar Investment Authority earlier this year put its valuation closer to $5bn.
From the combined Nigerian and London IPO, Airtel Africa — which operates a telecoms and mobile money business across 14 African countries — raised £595m.
The whole of the shares issued in the IPO represented 19 percent of Airtel’s total stock.

“This is a proud moment for the team that has built Airtel Africa into the second-largest mobile operator in Africa. We are now the first telecom company to simultaneously list on the Premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and Nigerian Stock Exchange through an IPO.”

Airtel’s IPO is For Institutional Investors. Ordinary Nigerians and the General Public Can Begin To Trade In Airtel’s Shares By July 4 On Both The London And The Nigerian Stock Exchanges

“The offer consists of an institutional offer only. Ordinary Shares will be offered pursuant to the Global Offer (a) to certain institutional investors in the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S, (b) in the United States only to those reasonably believed to be Qualified Institutional Buyers, QIBs in reliance on an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and pursuant to the Nigerian Offer © in Nigeria to Qualified Institutional Investors and High Net Worth Investors as defined in Rule 321 of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Rules pursuant to a book building process (the “Nigerian Offer”)” the prospectus stated.

Why The Nigerian Stock Exchange and Not The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Which Is The Largest In Africa, Was Chosen For The African Listing

According to the prospectus of the offer, Nigeria represents the Airtel’s largest single country subscriber base, comprising 37.6 percent of the Group’s total subscribers as at 31 March 2019, with 43.4 percent of subscribers in East Africa and the remaining 19.1 percent in the Group’s Rest of Africa segment.

In the year ended 31st March 2019, revenue in Nigeria was $1.1 billion (representing 35.9 percent of the Group’s revenue in the year) and the underlying Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation, EBITDA was $550 million.

In Nigeria, revenue attributable to mobile voice services in the year ended 31st March 2019 was $739.8 million

The prospectus said the company wants to raise money so it can use it to pay down some of its crushing debts.

Why Airtel’s Shares Are Worthy Of Public Subscription

Airtel reported revenues of $3 billion for the year ended March 2019 compared to $2.9 billion the year before.

The company also reported a profit of $450 million in 2019.

Airtel posted losses of $134 million and $769 million in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Timelines For The Offer

The offer closes June 28 and allotment of new ordinary shares to the shareholders begins June 29, 2019, while the crediting of ordinary shares to accounts start July 3, 2019.

The Nigerian admission and start of unconditional dealings on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE is expected from July 4, 2019

Click here to download and read Airtel Africa ’s IPO prospectus.

Here is a list of stock brokerage firms in Nigeria through which you may be able to purchase or sell shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.