African Rainbow Capital (ARC), a fully black-owned and controlled investment company, today announced that it has acquired a substantial stake in leading enterprise and supplier development firm, Edge Growth.
As a result of this acquisition, Edge Growth is now officially a majority black owned entity, with a wider network of potential partners, the company says in a press statement. Edge Growth will not only become the latest member of the ARC family, but will also play a role in enterprise and supplier development (ESD) implementation for these companies and the wider Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust.
“For years, we have worked determinedly to match large enterprises with growing SMEs in mutually beneficial relationships that create jobs and fight poverty,” says Edge Growth Managing Director, Dan Hatfield, adding that it should come as no surprise that African Rainbow Capital’s investment in Edge Growth would also be the catalyst of an exciting new phase of growth in our organisation.
“The recent acquisition of a large stake in Edge Growth by the highly respected African Rainbow Capital reaffirms our commitment to making maximum impact in business transformation in South Africa,” says Hatfield.
In considering potential candidates for such a partnership, ARC, whose board is chaired by Patrice Motsepe, came highly recommended, with a similar ethos and entrepreneurial approach, promising a good cultural and values fit, according to Edge Growth.
“As an authentically black empowered business, ARC boasts a strong history of broad-based education and community support, along with an impressive track record of good corporate citizenship – perfectly in line with the Edge Growth philosophy.”
“There can be no better fit than ARC in our quest for transformation in South Africa and this exciting new phase in Edge Growth’s development. ARC’s current stable of businesses form an informal network that has much to gain from Edge Growth’s years of experience in the incubation of small businesses. With the increased market reach provided by our ESD funds, Edge Growth can assist ARC businesses in the development of ESD partnerships that yield real results and create a pipeline for future investments.”
The company also says that the acquisition will benefit from their new black ownership status and will receive a higher B-BBEE score simply by partnering with Edge Growth in implementing their ESD initiatives. Their employees will also see direct benefits in the increase of the ESOP Employee Share Trust, specifically created to assist and grow committed black employees who have been an integral part of growing the organisation, the company says.
“While Edge Growth will also benefit from the capital injection that may even fuel our expansion beyond South Africa’s borders, we still consider the most important aspect of this partnership to be the opportunity to inspire our clients and their suppliers to commit to transformation, and to encourage them to procure from similar organisations in the future.”
