Into Africa

Eight years after establishing a presence in Windhoek, Allan Gray opens an office in Gaborone, Botswana.

According to Nthisana Phillips, Managing Director of Allan Gray Botswana, the size and growth potential of Botswana’s economy and the government’s commitment to create a financial services centre provide an opportunity for an established fund manager like Allan Gray to operate successfully.

“Botswana has an economy and a savings pool big enough to warrant our attention and, with Allan Gray’s philosophy and investment process, we believe we will be able to add significant value to clients’ investments.

Because there is no exchange control there, the broader Allan Gray family, together with our global asset management partner Orbis, is presented with an opportunity to expand its reach,” she says.

Phillips points out that although Namibia’s economy is slightly smaller than that of Botswana, the two markets are not dissimilar and that given the success of the office in Namibia, Allan Gray has the necessary experience to run a company outside South Africa.

She says that business in Botswana is concentrated on the government-sponsored pension fund and the pension fund of Debswana, by far the biggest company and employer in the private sector and already a client of Orbis.