Business Magazine (of Mauritius) covered the story of the launch of the SEMX in its latest issue. The translation from French to English is below.
AFRICA Eats, Elite Meat Processors and Ziweto Holdings are the three companies listed simultaneously on SEMX, a new segment targeting African companies. To qualify for SEMX, Vickram Ramful, Head of Listing at SEM, specifies that a company must demonstrate either a compound annualized growth rate of at least 25% of turnover over the last three years, or
a cumulative growth of 100% of turnover reasonably distributed over the last five years.
This triple listing on the Stock Exchange marks the beginning of a new era, positioning Mauritius as an innovative financial hub for high-growth companies across the African Union.
The new era ushered in by the partnership between SEM, Perigeum Capital, OneLink, Rogers Capital and Africa Eats has not only attracted the second largest meat processing company in Rwanda, but also the largest Agrovet chain in Malawi.
For Luni Libes, co-founder and CEO of Africa Eats, this listing is part of a clear strategic
vision. “The initial plan developed in 2018 was for Africa Eats to be listed on an African stock exchange by 2024-2025 to access public capital markets, particularly pension funds and other institutional investors who typically shy away from private equity due to high risks and low liquidity,” he explains. The choice naturally fell on the Mauritius Stock Exchange, considered the most appropriate within the African Union, not only for Africa Eats, but also for its successful companies.
The interest shown by many Mauritian institutional and individual investors already validates
this strategy. “Our goal is to bring more of our successful companies to the SEMX. We envision
this segment as the nerve center for trading public shares of successful pan-African companies by 2030, if not sooner,” adds Luni Libes.
With regard to Elite Meat Processors and Ziweto Holdings, two companies led by captains of industry in their respective countries and sectors, they found in the SEMX an ideal platform
to access new sources of capital. On the other hand, to address traditional liquidity challenges
in emerging markets, SEMX innovates with a tailored market-making system. “All three
listed companies on SEMX benefit from a designated ‘Market Maker’ who provides liquidity once a week. We have also reviewed our fee structure to reduce the costs related to ‘Market Making’ activities,” says Vickram Ramful.
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION
The management team of Perigeum Capital, transaction advisors for this landmark
same-day listing, took on a major challenge. The process began with a close collaboration with key regulatory bodies in Mauritius, including the SEM and the Financial Services Commission [the securities regulator in Mauritius]. “Our objective was to identify the key hurdles
early on and work closely with the management of Africa Eats Ltd to overcome them effectively,” says Shamin Sookia, Managing Director of Perigeum Capital. To ensure optimal daily support for these three companies, OneLink deployed a cutting-edge technological infrastructure specializing in register management. Rogers Capital also played a key role in this achievement. As Management company and Company secretary, the company planned each step to facilitate the IPO of the three African companies. The team ensured their regulatory compliance and worked closely with Perigeum Capital, the Transaction Advisor.
“The IPO process required careful planning and regular updates of the governance and regulatory compliance of the three structures. As secretary of Africa Eats, we first ensured that it complied with all applicable regulations and was in good standing before initiating the IPO process,” explains Veerha Bhogun, Senior Manager – Business Development at Rogers Capital.
Rogers Capital also managed the process of incorporating the holding structures of Elite Meat Processors and Ziweto Holdings and ensured that the governance of the three structures met the standards required to pass the admission test to the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.
