The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) launched an incubation and acceleration program called the Ibuka late last year. Ibuka is a Swahili word meaning to emerge. The program seeks to end a prolonged listing drought at the bourse by taking small and medium sized companies through a 10 month incubation period. The program is designed around Hosting on non-trading boards; these are the Incubator Board and the Accelerator Board. The program will enable select Kenyan companies fast-track their development by accessing financial advisors and consultants to help them structure their businesses, enhance visibility and get exposure to local and international investors.
On 18th September, 2019, InVhestia was officially onboarded to the Ibuka Program. We are part of both the Accelerator and Incubator boards as Financial Consultants and Lead Transaction Advisors respectively. We are excited to be a part of this game changing program that will enable small and medium sized companies to compete at the next level. The objective for the advisors and consultants is to assist the hostee companies to develop their capabilities and operations so as to enable them to have access to the capital market.
Through this program, the hostee companies, which are companies accepted into the program after a rigorous evaluation and vetting process making, will undergo two phases. The first is the incubation phase, involving enhancing their financial, technical, operational, commercial and strategic aspects of their businesses whilst the acceleration phase, will enable the companies to raise capital through debt and equity market as they track valuation as well as produce specialized documents such as capital raising and equity raising reports.
The hostee companies can benefit from joining the Ibuka program by getting visibility and exposure. The program exposes companies to both local and international investors in the capital market. The companies will gain credibility due to association with the NSE which is the largest securities Exchange in the region and one of the largest in Africa. The companies will also get expert advisory, through the consultant and advisors appointed to the incubation and accelerator boards. The consultants/advisors will offer technical expert advisory services to the companies to help improve their structures.
The program which now has a total of 17 member companies. These include Moad Capital, Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Limited (VAELL), Globetrotter Travel Agency Limited, Nile Capital Limited, HomeBoyz Entertainment Limited and Tusker Mattresses Limited (Tuskys) among others. The NSE is targeting to list their first firm from the program program by the end of the first quarter of 2020. As per an article in the Business Daily, NSE chief executive Mr Geoffrey Odundo said that companies already in the program are at different stages of compliance. He affirmed that the program is helping the companies meet the required terms and that we should be expecting announcements by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
