Simplifying the process of investment in the African tourism sector

Safari Partners introduces safari operators and investors.

Almost all of the inverstment opportunities are 'off-market' and exclusive.  In some cases Safari Partners offer opportunities that are listed with other institutions or agencies where we have reciprocal agreements in place.

We work primarily with private investors and family offices as we find their investment values and criteria are more aligned with our investees' expectations and commitment to completing deals is their priority. Investors generally opt for a combination of equity and debt funding through convertible loan notes and similar instruments.  Safari Partners is not a bank and we do not introduce investors with debt only funding proposals to our investees.

Experience with private equity fund managers and institutional investors has, in the main, not been very productive for our investees.  The due diligence process is generally too long and expensive for our investees and exclusivity requirements prevent investment from other investors.  That said we are open to discussions with fund managers if their funds are already subscribed with available funding who do not require investees to sign up to exclusiuvity agreements.  

Our process is tailored to the expectations of investors and investees.  Investments in the safari sector require investor/investee synergy and solid personal relationships.  New investment opportunities are carefully matched to investors and if there is a willingness on the part of both parties to proceed we make the relevant introductions.  All investor information is held securely and confidentially and is only shared when consent is given by the investor.  Once intriduced we encourage the parties and their professional advisers to engage directly but we are always on hand to help when required.

Whilst Safari Partners do not provide investment advice to investors or investees, with the benefit of many transactions in various African countries over 25+ years we are able to highlight areas that require due diligence and introduce professionals that we have used in the past who have provided quality service.  Oure referrals are impartial and we do not request or accept referral fees from any recommendations.

Safari operators seeking equity or debt funding are welcome to register with Safari Partners.  We will conduct our own due diligence on investees to satisfy ourselves that the investee meets our high standards.  We do not charge any fees for this process.  On successful registration all information on the investment opportunity is held confidentially and treated as 'off-market'.  When a suitable investor is identified we discuss that investor profile with the investee and if they give consent we request consent to share anonymised information confidentially and set up a video meeting to introduce the parties. Our passive marketing service is success based and a fee is payable on signing of a heads of terms or letter of intent setting out the terms of the deal.

In some cases our investees request a more proactive marketing service.  In these situations we list the opportunity on our website and add it to our 'deralflow newsletter' that is sent to all registered investors.  We can develop a marketing plan that goes beyond our immediate circle of investors through partner agencies, advisors and direct marketing via LinkedIn campaigns.  Our proactive marketing service is fee based dependent on the scale of the marketing campaign with a success fee payable on signing of a heads of terms or letter of intent setting out the terms of the deal. 

With representation offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa and associates in Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique we are well positioned to provide investors with local support in their chosen investee country.

To engage with us please email us on partners@safaripartners.africa or to view our 'on-market' opporunities visit our 'opportunities' page.