Gondwana Holdings Ltd sold 10% of its shares to Nam-mic Financial Services Holdings (Pty) Ltd (NFSH), on July 3, after a year of negotiations.
With the signing of the shareholding agreement, NFSH has become a 10% shareholder in Gondwana Holdings. The capital invested will flow directly into the expansion of the tourism group, and be used for further developments, such as The Desert Grace, set to open on November 1, and the new lodge in the King Nehale Conservancy, with construction commencing within the next few months.
NFSH is a broad-based black economic empowerment company with the vision of sustainably changing/impacting the lives of the communities in which it operates. All its shares are owned by the National Union of Namibian Workers and its affiliated unions. Other strategic partners include Capricorn Investment Holdings, Santam Namibia and Sanlam Namibia Holdings.
Established in 2001, NFSH has successfully evolved into a socio-economic powerhouse beyond its 93 000 membership base.
The deal was made possible by Gondwana’s transformation to a holding company in November 2017. Upon completion of the restructuring process, Gondwana issued shares to its 800 employees as a once-off gesture of appreciation to its staff for laying a solid foundation for the company to grow into one of the largest hospitality groups in Namibia.
A strategic policy change at NFSH enabled Gondwana to become its first strategic partner outside the financial sector.
“We are obsessed with sustainability and therefore we do not practise inclusivity on the strength of envisaged legislation, but rather because we believe it is the right thing to do. We want to actively build Namibia’s future, not only having sustainability at heart, but also the people of our country and their well-being. We passionately believe tourism can change the future of our beautiful country but for that to happen, the benefits must be shared inclusively, from shareholder level to the communities where we operate,” said Gys Joubert, Gondwana MD.
“We are joining Gondwana with the best of intentions. We want to get involved and add value to Gondwana. We are glad that we found a partner in the tourism sector who is a cultural fit and shares the same values,” said Walter Don, CEO of NFSH.
