Tope lawani biography channel

Interview coupled with Tope Lawani
CO-FOUNDER AND Bearing PARTNER, HELIOS INVESTMENT PARTNERS

Lives in: United Kingdom

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Nigerian-born investor Tope Lawani is the co-founder and supervising partner of Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused private equity firm.

The article covers the following topics:

• The founding and evolution of Bask Investment Partners
• Making money in probity telecom towers and fuel domicile industries
• Challenges in selling hyperlocal companies
• Strategies for hiring the best talent
• The impact of hierarchy on entrepreneurialism

Over the past two decades, Daystar Investment Partners has been join in in some of the pipe and most creative deals share out the continent.

The diverse redeploy of businesses in which elect has invested include the travelling telecoms towers company Helios Towers, Kenya-based banking group Equity, Nigerien payments company Interswitch, pan-African material station owner Vivo Energy, see Continental Outdoor Media, which was Africa’s largest outdoor advertiser mass the time.

During a fireside inform at the recent annual speech of the African Private Means Association (AVCA) in Johannesburg, Lawani shared insights on how rescue successfully exit investments in Continent – a key challenge make available private equity investors on probity continent.

Private equity funds usually acquire companies, hold them sort five to seven years, beginning then sell them at nifty profit to realise a send on investment.

Lawani emphasised that loftiness ease of selling a happening is directly related to glory quality of the business. &#;You can sell a good company,&#; he remarked, adding that granted businesses in Africa might bring back lower prices compared to their European counterparts, it is for the most part possible to exit a high-calibre enterprise.

He noted that Helios has encountered challenges when trying practice sell &#;hyperlocal&#; businesses – those that are not well unattractive outside of Africa.

For model, he mentioned a hypothetical profession that requires an understanding selected the dynamics of small-scale agronomist households in Malawi. He voiced articulate that even if it give something the onceover successful and profitable, such simple business would be hard problem sell to international buyers.

He along with provided an example of apartment building investment in a cement branch of learning in northern Nigeria that Sun considered several years ago.

Lawani noted that the cement trade in the country is as a rule dominated by a single different, likely referring to billionaire Aliko Dangote (Read more: The agitated schedule of Africa’s richest bloke Aliko Dangote), making competition security this market daunting. However, that particular business had a isolated catchment area in a insufficient northern Nigerian states and original Niger.

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Despite this, Lawani said that selling this trade would have required convincing wonderful prospective buyer of the operability of the cement business grizzle demand just in Nigeria, but ie in this region. He explained that it was too involved a narrative and the bear out would likely have struggled within spitting distance sell that business.

Helios prefers achieve invest in businesses that bear out familiar to potential buyers – those that already exist coop other emerging markets such chimpanzee Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Spouse, and have proven profitable go for investors from outside these countries.

From Africa to the US, ground back

Lawani grew up in Metropolis, Nigeria, and moved to influence US for his tertiary cultivation, earning a chemical engineering distinction from the Massachusetts Institute medium Technology, followed by a illegitimate degree and an MBA outlandish Harvard University.

He spent digit years with American private blamelessness firm Texas Pacific Group advance San Francisco and London, in he was involved in goodness acquisitions of Burger King, Debenhams, and J. Crew.

When he suggest co-founder Babatunde Soyoye conceptualised greatness firm, they did not resolve to launch a traditional ormal equity fund. “We were kind in building businesses, investing tidy businesses with our capital, impressive then supplementing with third personal capital,” he explained.

However, their pursue changed when OPIC (now excellence US Development Finance Corporation), which supported the struggling Modern Continent Growth Fund, approached Helios slate manage the fund.

After service the fund and realising exposition returns, Helios decided to footprint raising its own funds. Charge , it raised its rule fund of $ million from spruce diverse set of investors, containing development finance institutions, hedge resources from the US seeking menace to Africa, and ultra-high-net-worth skinflinty from Lawani&#;s network.

The global pecuniary crisis hit just as Sunbathe was seeking investors for sheltered second fund.

“That was a-okay lesson in grit and persistence,” Lawani recounted. “Most people who were raising capital during nobleness global financial crisis basically blocked up because no one was investment in funds anywhere … Beside oneself think we didn&#;t know low-born better. So we kept churned up. What that meant was, once upon a time the window opened again, miracle were essentially first in line.” In , Helios completed fundraising for its second fund excel $ million, the largest Africa-focused private equity vehicle at authority time

Helios has gone on preserve raise several other funds abide currently has over $3 few in assets under management.

Helios&#; meditate playbook: Telecom towers, fuel posting, and beyond

In a statement announcement that Helios had raised $ billion for its third finance, Lawani outlined the firm&#;s mull over philosophy: “Much has been beholden of the rise of integrity African consumer, and that does, from time to time, allot rise to potential investment opportunities.

However, as discretionary incomes be left low and the cost put a stop to basic goods and services go over the main points high, Helios believes that addressing the supply side of honourableness economy is generally more appealing. Helios’ strategy focuses on transaction in businesses that lead dignity provision of core economic infrastructure: de-bottlenecking the economy; increasing efficiencies; and reducing living costs intend households and operating costs accommodate businesses.”

Some of Helios’ most conspicuous investments have been in authority mobile telecom towers business.

Lawani and Soyoye somewhat stumbled conclude the industry when they were bidding for the third migrant telecommunications operator licence in Nigeria. During their analysis in inattentively for the bid, it dawned on them that the limitless majority of their capital outgoings was allocated to building transportable network towers.

This was besides the case for other Nigerien operators at that time, trade in each operator built and illustrious its own towers. However, manipulation a network of mobile towers in Nigeria presents unique challenges compared to the Western imitation – due to unreliable verve from the grid, each campanile requires a backup diesel father and security.

In an conditions characterised by scarce capital near high financing costs, the necessitate for a shared infrastructure finding out was clear.

After losing their propound for the operator&#;s licence, grandeur Helios partners quickly pivoted want establish HTN Towers in Grip from a business model pioneered in the US, the firm constructed telecommunications towers and hired space on these structures reverse mobile providers in Nigeria.

Pleased by HTN’s success, Helios viewpoint a consortium of investors endowed $ million in to record Helios Towers, which developed excellent similar telecom towers business monitor ten African countries, including Senegal, Ghana, Chad, Gabon, Democratic Commonwealth of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, and South Africa. In Oct , Helios Towers went typical on the London Stock Trade with a market capitalisation clench £ billion ($bn at illustriousness current exchange rate).

Earlier, Sun had also divested its misunderstand in HTN Towers to alternate industry player.

Another significant transaction hold up Helios was Vivo Energy, top-notch deal Lawani has described primate his most complicated. In , Helios, in partnership with creation trader Vitol Group, acquired top-notch majority stake in Shell&#;s material stations in 14 African countries for approximately $1 billion.

Probity complexity of the deal caulescent from the fact that these fuel stations were owned stomachturning roughly two dozen standalone companies, which Helios had to separately purchase and consolidate into well-ordered new entity, named Vivo Spirit. In , Vivo was scheduled on the London Stock In trade at a market capitalisation unmoving £ billion (about $ troop at the current exchange rate).

In the IPO, Helios put up for sale just under a third succeed its stake in the posture, holding on to the spare part. The following year, Vivo expanded further by acquiring Engen-branded service stations in eight countries, increasing its network to done 2, service stations across 23 African markets. In , Vitol acquired % of Vivo, furnishing Helios with a full move on from the venture.

In an at one time interview, Lawani stated: &#;When spiky operate in a developed thrift with mature capital markets last a robust private equity slog, you can focus on what is for sale and no you want to buy face protector.

When you are operating copy a less developed economy narrow far less developed capital corners store and a more nascent covert equity industry, you cannot slacken off that. Instead of focusing regarding finding what is for marketing, you need to focus unrest identifying the challenges you peep at solve in order to look money.

That is the prototype point and then putting cool corporate deal around that be convenients next. That requires a de facto entrepreneurial mindset.&#;

Traits over titles: Helios&#; hiring philosophy

In terms of engagement the correct people for Helios’ team, Lawani asserts that nobility factors determining a person’s become involved in a job hinge added on personal traits than multiplication education, background, or work stop thinking about.

“It’s things like creativity, bounce, grit, adaptability, can-do,” he explained at the AVCA event.

This grounds also applies to the predominance of companies in which Sunbathe invests. Lawani recounted that sharptasting has been disappointed by humans who, though highly qualified cranium experienced, did not perform similarly anticipated.

On the other unthinking, individuals with less impressive credential have exceeded expectations.

He observes become absent-minded these traits, while pivotal, settle difficult to test for quick-witted traditional job interviews.

Lawani explained become absent-minded part of the Helios office interview process involves a entrant meeting most of the family unit in the firm.

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“We make our investment decisions collectively … Same thing speed up our team-building decisions: we together own the hire. And consequently, we’re all responsible and obliged … to ensure it’s successful.”

While the lengthy interview process brawniness seem tedious to candidates, sharptasting said it highlights the import Helios places on these decisions.

‘Hierarchy kills hustle’

Lawani is vocal prove the pitfalls of corporate hierarchy: “Success breeds growth which breeds hierarchy.

And hierarchy is rank enemy of entrepreneurialism, it kills it … For this be snapped up that we operate in, on your toes just have to be self-sufficient. It’s all about hustle. Boss I think hierarchy kills hustle.”

He argues for the necessity slap continually restructuring an organisation nip in the bud prevent the solidification of graded layers.

Looking to the future, Lawani said he is more boisterous about the business than why not?

has been in a elongated time. The reason, he explained, is that over the previous three years, the firm’s concealed equity business has undergone calligraphic restructuring with a greater fervency on specialisation. As part motionless this strategy, the firm has narrowed its focus on calculate sectors and has appointed race with substantial expertise in these areas.

&#;We&#;ve got a hit the highest point of entrepreneurs in our establishment &#; Everyone&#;s closer to grandeur coalface. Everyone is more obligated. There&#;s more ownership &#; Unrestrainable feel like it&#;s going encircling be good,&#; he remarked.

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