Africa Lighthouse Capital (ALC) says its five-year investment in Minet Botswana delivered better-than-expected results, marking what it describes as Botswana’s first completed private equity investment cycle.
The local private equity firm, however, has declined to disclose how much it invested in Minet, the value of the exit or the returns generated, saying the information was shared privately with the pension funds that backed its first investment fund.
ALC Fund I has completed the sale of its 33.33 percent stake in Minet Botswana Holdings, an investment it acquired in June 2021 following Minet Group’s purchase of Aon Botswana’s business.
The exit formed part of Adenia Partners’ wider acquisition of Minet operations across nine African countries.
“The Minet investment was profitable and exceeded our expectations at the time of making the investment,” Africa Lighthouse Capital Chief Executive Officer Bame Pule told The Business Weekly & Review.
Pule said detailed financial information, including the realised proceeds from the sale, had been provided to the seven pension funds that invested in ALC Fund I through the fund’s regular reporting process.
He said the investment amount, transaction pricing, portfolio company performance and investor returns could not be disclosed publicly because they constituted confidential client information.
For ALC, the significance of the transaction extends beyond the financial outcome.
Pule said the Minet exit demonstrated that Botswana had successfully completed a full private equity cycle — from raising domestic institutional capital, investing in a local business, actively managing the investment and ultimately realising returns through an institutional sale.
He said the transaction showed the role locally managed private equity can play in providing long-term capital to Botswana businesses while creating value for institutional investors.
During the investment period, ALC representatives served on the boards of Minet’s five Botswana companies, where they focused on governance, fiduciary oversight, regulatory engagement and board processes during a period of significant legislative and regulatory change.
“Because Minet remains a privately held company, Africa Lighthouse Capital is not able to disclose Minet’s financial information. Those details remain confidential to the company and its shareholders,” Pule said.
The Minet exit comes as ALC prepares to raise its second private equity fund.
Pule said prospective investors would receive detailed performance information during the confidential fundraising process rather than through public disclosures.
He said the successful Minet investment demonstrated that ALC’s investment strategy could deliver successful exits and return capital to institutional investors.
