Dr. Akintoye Akindele is committed to investing up to R290m to in 20 SA businesses.
The scale of the investment went from $100 million to as low as $50,000.Dr Akintoye Akindele says there is a simple reason he became a chemical engineer. “The fear of hunger and poverty,” is how the founder of Platform Capital puts it.
Akindele knew Africans were capable of coming up with locally developed technology to address real problems in their lives, but they needed the funding to back them up. This realisation saw him shifting gear and going into finance. He completed his PhD in finance at the International School of Management in France.Though Akindele enjoyed some success, especially after he started his own private equity firm, when it came to the funding of big projects, it was still not what he wanted.
Akindele has not been idle. Last year he invested in 47 businesses, where the scale of the investment went from $100 million to as low as $50,000.Though Akindele wants to do deals across the globe – as long as they benefit Africa – he is keen to invest in South African ventures. He says capital in SA invests in “old” sectors like mining and the finance sector, but there is a shortage of capital when it comes looking for promising investment opportunities like startups.“We are moving to a world that is far more different than where we are coming from. The biggest export on the continent is our people, our music, our lifestyle. The current capital base does not understand how to access those markets.”Akindele has the funding to back up his ambition.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Turkey's foreign minister says sanctioned Russian oligarchs are welcome as tourists and investors | BusinessinsiderSanctioned Russian oligarchs are welcome in Turkey as tourists and investors, according to the country's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. | BISouthAfrica
Read more »
Virtual reality could help ward off Alzheimer's by making people feel less lonely | BusinessinsiderVirtual reality could reduce loneliness, a key risk factor for Alzheimer's. It could also trigger old memories or help people recall certain senses.
Read more »
Inside London's 'Red Square,' where some of Russia's most powerful oligarchs have bought homes | BusinessinsiderEaton Square, an exclusive garden estate in London, is nicknamed 'Red Square' because many of its residents are Russian billionaires.
Read more »
'Pimps' stalking Poland's railway stations, border crossings targeting women, children fleeing Ukraine | BusinessinsiderWomen and children fleeing Ukraine are being preyed upon by traffickers in neighboring countries, charity groups have warned. | BISouthAfrica
Read more »
Ukraine captures one of Russia's most advanced electronic warfare systems - report | BusinessinsiderThe abandoned Russian Krasukha-4 command module will be examined by Western spy agencies and shipped to the US, reports say.
Read more »