Title: Afsar Ebrahim – Executive Director, KICK Advisory Services (1)
1Afsar Ebrahim East Africa is poised to attract
major interest from foreign investors
- Having served as the Deputy Group Managing
Partner in an international accounting firm,
Afsar Ebrahim has now founded a boutique advisory
firm, KICK Advisory Services, born of his 30-year
experience in the financial consulting domain. We
speak to him to understand what motivated him to
start this venture, which is likely to prove a
major pillar of support to corporates as they
seek specialised partners to improve their
liquidity and restructure their balance sheets to
strike the optimum balance between debt and
equity in a post COVID-19 context. Moreover, with
his vast experience of working with countries in
East Africa, Afsar notes that KICK is in a
unique market standing to help clients expand
into these growth economies which are well
positioned to attract major interest from foreign
investors.
2What motivated you to start KICK Advisory
Services?
- There was a gap in the market requiring a
specialised firm offering be-spoke solutions that
can create value for shareholders. Mauritius as
an IFC of substance needs more specialists to
broaden the service offerings to international
clients. Also, the current volatility in the
economic environment means that CEOs need a lot
more focused assistance to be able to deliver on
their agenda. All these factors have motivated
the setting up of KICK Advisory Services.
3Do you feel that the current context of
volatility and uncertainty facing businesses
with liquidity problems and cash flow issues
unfortunately becoming the norm calls for a
greater emphasis on corporate finance, and
restructuring solutions in particular?
- The current volatility and lack of visibility
oblige businesses to focus on their financing.
Obviously, there is a liquidity crunch which is a
short-term challenge but the overall climate
warrants a holistic approach to an optimum
capital structure. This requires careful
evaluation of the cost of equity against the cost
of debt, more so given that the cost of debt is
currently at its lowest level. However, the
financial risk associated with debt remains as
high as it has ever been because of stringent
regulations. Hence, the need for an intelligent
approach to equity, bearing in mind the trade-off
between cost of equity and cost of dilution.
4The business name KICK Advisory conveys a sense
of dynamism, with Ensure our clients kick
themselves from good to great being your
corporate tagline. How will you ensure that your
business lives up to this dynamic and visionary
tagline?
- KICK is the enabler to score, the enabler to win
and to get results. The colors of KICK reflect
the colours of victory it is indeed no
coincidence that our colours are similar to those
of MAN United. - We ensure our clients kick themselves from good
to great and we shall make a positive difference
with our commitment, passion, integrity, honesty
and, finally, the personal touch that we bring to
all our endeavours.
5KICK Advisory will offer corporate finance
solutions to firms wishing to establish
themselves in India, Dubai and Africa. What are
the key reasons behind the focus on these three
geographies?
- We have an extended network with sustainable
knowledge and experience of the market in various
continents. Therefore, we are well-positioned to
accompany our clients to expand their business,
be it in Africa, India or Dubai. We are looking
at cross border transactions and we firmly
believe that outbound investments into Africa
will accelerate. There is a lot of capital
available with funds that are located in Dubai
which are Africa-focused, and we intend to tap
into these funds.
6In particular, with Africa being one of the few
regions globally to have been somewhat spared the
worst of the COVID-19 crisis courtesy of its
youth demographic dividend, how is KICK Advisory
Services positioning itself to target firms from
the continent?
- My track record in Advisory has been primarily
been in East Africa and its an environment which
is going to attract major interest from foreign
investors. So, KICK has been positioned through
its strategic alliances to take advantage of
these opportunities by leveraging on this robust
network.
7Finally, what would be the main insights you
would like to share with businesses that are
struggling with cash flows and contemplating
engaging experts to support them on the corporate
finance front?
- First and foremost, companies in difficulties
should not hesitate to invest in securing the
services of professional advisers who are
experienced in turnarounds. The current
situation requires a different mindset to be able
to come up with innovative solutions. - In addition, no business operates in a vacuum and
with Mauritius being an export-oriented economy,
be it for goods or services, it is imperative
that both clients and advisors are very much
aware of the international context.
8What is the range of solutions that KICK Advisory
Services offers in the corporate finance space?
- We offer the following solutions in the corporate
finance space - Valuation
- M A Advisory
- Fund raising
- Working Capital Requirements
- Strategic Consulting
- Business Restructuring Services
9Thank You
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