Zimbabwe’s Bard Santner is looking to build new business links in Mauritius, after its top executives met President Dharambeer Gokhool at State House in Port Louis.
The delegation was led by board chairperson Vinod Khooshiramsing Bussawah and included chief executive Senziwani Sikhosana, managing director Tatenda Hungwe, executive director Lucia Chingwaru and Bard Santner Microfinance Bank boss Ngonidzashe Chikowore.
The message from the meeting was clear: the Harare-based financial group wants to connect with investors and financial players in one of the region’s established financial centres.
Gokhool’s social media platforms said the discussions covered investment management, cross-border financial services and collaboration with Mauritian stakeholders. Mauritius was described as a strategic gateway for investment into Africa.
Bard Santner already operates in Harare, Johannesburg and New York, offering services that include asset and wealth management, corporate finance and treasury management. The group has Mauritian directors and is now looking to grow its network on the island.
The move comes as the company pursues deals and services stretching well beyond Zimbabwe. Bard Santner says it recently helped local investors access a US$1.6 billion share offering connected to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria.
The refinery, owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, is operating at a stated capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day. Its expansion plan aims to lift capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
Dangote’s Zimbabwe ambitions have also featured in Bard Santner’s regional push. The group brought him to Harare last November to discuss a proposed investment of more than US$1 billion in cement manufacturing, limestone and coal mining, and power generation. The project could potentially reach US$2 billion if plans for an oil pipeline from Namibia through Botswana to Zimbabwe are realised.
Closer to home, Bard Santner is preparing to enter the diaspora finance market. The company says the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has granted its microfinance bank a licence, paving the way for a planned institution aimed at Zimbabweans living and working abroad.
That market includes millions of Zimbabweans across countries such as South Africa, Botswana, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, where remittances remain an important link with families and businesses back home.
The announcement follows the unveiling of a 13-member board for Bard Santner Bank. The company says the board includes former executives from global institutions including HSBC, KPMG and PwC.
Zimbabwe is also pursuing a wider financial-services ambition of its own: turning Victoria Falls into an international financial centre. The proposed zone is intended to attract banking, investment and international business to the resort town, taking inspiration from Mauritius’ role as a regional hub.
For Bard Santner, the State House meeting offers a chance to build relationships in a market that could help connect its Zimbabwean operations with investors and opportunities across Africa and beyond.
