Bard Santner Courts Mauritius in Push to Expand Regional Financial Services

Bard Santner Group is seeking to expand its regional financial services footprint through Mauritius, with the Zimbabwean financial services firm holding high-level talks with President Dharambeer Gokhool as it explores cross-border investment and business opportunities.

A delegation led by board chairperson Vinod Bussawah, accompanied by chief executive Senziwani Sikhosana and other senior executives, met Gokhool at State House in Port Louis on Wednesday.

The discussions centred on investment management, cross-border financial services and potential partnerships with Mauritian stakeholders, highlighting the island nation's position as a gateway for international capital flowing into Africa.

According to a statement published on Gokhool's social media platforms, the delegation also included Tatenda Hungwe, managing director; Lucia Chingwaru, executive director; and Ngonidzashe Chikowore, managing director of Bard Santner Microfinance Bank.

The Mauritius engagement comes as Bard Santner pursues an expansion strategy that could position it as a regional financial services player, leveraging the island nation's established financial infrastructure and international investment networks.

Headquartered in Harare, with offices in Johannesburg and New York, Bard Santner provides financial intermediary, asset management, corporate finance, wealth management and treasury management services.

The group has several Mauritian directors, including its chairperson, and is seeking to deepen its presence in the island nation's financial services market.

Its regional ambitions have also been reflected in its involvement in major investment initiatives, including facilitating local investors' access to the US$1.6 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.

The refinery, owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and located in Lekki, Lagos, has a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, with plans to increase production capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.

The proposed IPO is intended to raise capital towards the refinery's expansion programme.

In November last year, Bard Santner also brought Dangote to Zimbabwe to explore investments exceeding US$1 billion in an integrated industrial project involving cement manufacturing, limestone and coal mining, and power generation.

The proposed investment could rise to US$2 billion if plans for an oil pipeline linking Namibia to Zimbabwe through Botswana are incorporated into the project.

Bard Santner is also expanding into the domestic financial services market after securing a deposit-taking microfinance banking licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

The planned institution is targeting Zimbabwe's diaspora market, which is supported by millions of Zimbabweans living and working in countries including South Africa, Botswana, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.

The group recently unveiled a 13-member board for Bard Santner Bank, comprising individuals with experience at international institutions including HSBC, KPMG and PwC.

The Mauritius visit is expected to support the group's broader strategy of connecting regional markets, facilitating cross-border financial transactions and aligning investment management services across Africa.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is pursuing its own ambitions of becoming an international financial services destination through the development of the Victoria Falls International Financial Services Centre.

Modelled partly on Mauritius' international financial centre, the Victoria Falls project is intended to position the resort town as an offshore financial services hub for international banking, investment management, capital flows and foreign-currency transactions.

Zimbabwe hopes to leverage the country's tourism potential and Victoria Falls' international profile to attract regional and global investors, following the example of Mauritius as an established financial gateway into Africa.