Entrepreneur and prominent global business speaker Vusi Thembekwayo has sold a majority stake in his management advisory and growth consultancy business Motiv8 Advisory to United States based Watermark Advisory LLP for an undisclosed amount.
The deal which has been over a year in the making stemmed from a five year working relationship Motiv8 Advisory have had with family controlled and privately-owned Watermark. The relationship allowed Motiv8 to license, leverage and implement technology, research and intellectual property from Watermark Advisory LLP on an agreed revenue and success fees distribution scheme.
Head of Emerging and Frontier Markets Distribution at Watermark Advisory LLP Mark Furry said, “Given the rates of economic growth in emerging and frontier economies, it is abundantly clear our growth over the next few decades will be fueled by a mix of revenues growth in both established and frontier economies.”
He further said, “We looked and tested several potential partners for acquisitions over the past few years. Our long-standing relationship with MOTIV8 Advisory fueled by shared values seemed a natural fit.”
Thembekwayo believes that the transaction is timeous saying, “The South African advisory market is maturing and our growth into the rest of the continent over the past four years has been hamstrung. Watermark was looking to enter the South African market and our eight-year-old business was ready to scale internationally so this match makes perfect sense.”
Motiv8 Advisory will now operate as Watermark Advisory and Thembekwayo will remain the CEO and chairman of the board.
The 32-year management expert said Watermark’s greater involvement would strengthen the company’s offering through leveraging its global intelligence, scientific research and data.
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Watermark which has been operating for close on a century specialises in management and executive advisory research and quantitative decision modelling for highly specialised industries.
Thembekwayo founded Motiv8 Advisory eight years ago as an offshoot of his speaking business as clients sought management advisory services and the research which informed his keynotes.
Thembekwayo has invested a substantial portion of his proceeds from the sale into his venture capital firm, MyGrowthFund whose aim it is to establish and build entrepreneurship and funding nodes in the rural and township markets of South Africa.
Known as the ‘Rock Star of Public Speaking’ Thembekwayo has built an impressive profile globally: he has spoken to & advised business leaders in close to 30 countries over the past decade; opened offices in Holborn, London (UK); has been invited to address the World Bank and the British House of Commons and was a dragon on Dragon’s Den South Africa.