Spear Capital

At Spear Capital, we take sustainability seriously. We are proud to share a newly launched impact project within one of our portfolio companies, Efoods Zimbabwe, focussing on the honey supply chain. This is a collaborative initiative with My Trees Trust and the Zambezi Elephant Fund. We look forward to watching this initiative grow.

As we approach the end of the year, we at Spear Capital wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very happy holiday season. We hope that you all have a healthy, successful, and fulfilling year ahead.

The second annual Sanlam ESG Barometer was recently publicised. It is an important initiative that must be welcomed because it provides a much-needed local focus on the progress of the sub-Saharan (specifically South African and Kenyan) business sector in implementing an ESG focus. But the Barometer also has its limitations, such as its exclusive focus on listed companies. The non-listed business sector also has an important role to play, and can drive initiatives that will positively impact some of the significant challenges faced in the region. Read more about the Barometer, and the potential role of private equity in driving appropriate behaviour in business practices below: #sanlamESGBarometer Nicole Martens Krutham

The sentiment behind Women’s Day can only be meaningful if proactive actions are taken, geared to improve the lives of women in myriad ways. For Spear Capital, the focus is on empowering women’s participation in economic activity. Spear Capital has adopted a strong focus on improving economic opportunities for women in Africa. #tretratech #valueforwomen

Congratulations to Jincom for the success of their app, SHINE, designed to make environmental, health and safety content easily accessible for frontline workers.  This software meets an important need when it comes to safety in the workplace, being quick access and ease of understanding, and demonstrates the innovation of Jincom’s solutions. Be sure to give their article on the subject a read.

Spear is proud to support the MyTrees trust, an organisation which aims to plant and protect indigenous forests across Zimbabwe through a holistic approach that is focused on working with rural communities. Their work includes indigenous tree planting, conservation, reducing human wildlife conflict , promoting climate-smart agricultural practices, delivering environmental education, and providing fuel-efficient stoves.

As we commemorate Mandela Day today, we are faced with the question of what we are doing to honour his life, legacy, and principles. In alignment and collaboration with the United Nations' SDGs, the Nelson Mandela Foundation issued a call to action for Mandela Day 2024, stating, 'It's still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity.' Nelson Mandela's vision for a fair and diverse society is a vision which should exist at the core of any movement towards sustainable development. At Spear Capital, it is our hope to further diversity and drive social and economic impact which resonates with Mandela’s vision for empowerment across Africa. #MandelaDay

The 15th of July is #YouthSkillsDay, declared by the United Nations in recognition of the need to equip young people with skills towards decent work, employment, and entrepreneurship. SDG 8, being decent work and economic growth, is central to our investment mission at Spear and is a continuous goal that we support within our portfolio. Today, we commemorate Youth Skills Day and reiterate our commitment to driving economic development and social stability in our investment markets.

In recent sustainability news, Nigeria aims to ban single use plastics by next year. Nigeria has been found to be among the world’s largest contributors to plastic pollution, with many other African countries also relying on single-use plastics both in consumption and in goods production. Understanding the prevalence of single-use plastics necessitates a developmental approach which recognises the socioeconomic and infrastructural reasons for plastic reliance, including inadequate waste management, under-resourced recycling solutions, and limited access to clean water. Beyond a ban on plastic, combating the usage of plastics that end up in landfills must be followed by improved access to alternative materials and recycling solutions in order for lasting sustainability to be reached. #Sustainability #SustainableDevelopment

Africa’s resilient manufacturing sectors are the backbone of the continent’s fastest-growing industries - but several challenges stand as barriers to Africa’s full innovative potential. Infrastructural deficiencies, limited access to sustainable energy sources, and the need for human capital development are chief among these challenges. As underserved areas that could find significant growth through outside capital, the call for investment into manufacturing in Africa not only serves to further job creation and technological innovation, it also seeks to consciously support the continent’s overall economic advancement. #InvestinAfrica