Why Great African Companies Still Get Overlooked – Sruti Patel

Yeah.

Now, in those roles, you spent years sitting between investors and company management teams.

As you reflect on that work and that time, what separated the companies that consistently attracted capital from those that struggled to get investor attention?

Yeah, I was in a very unique position where I was able to observe what catches investors' attention and compels them to commit capital outside of the obvious, you know, valuation metrics, balance sheet health.

decent macro, stable currency, etc.

And companies with strong storyline tend to attract attention.

As humans, we're drawn to a good story.

There's a reason the Odyssey has endured more than 2,800 years.

And investors reward management teams who not only communicate their vision clearly, but also provide consistent updates along the way, from challenges they're facing, to how they'll be overcome, to sharing major milestones.

I think another example is companies that have established communication channels with investors, management teams that are accessible, actively listen to investors, invite feedback and respond to investor queries in a timely manner tend to be trusted more.

I think particularly markets where access to reliable information is quite scarce.

I noticed that a healthy feedback loop goes a long way towards creating a partnership mindset.

No one likes being ghosted by a company they own shares in, but we've all been there before.

I'll give you one more example, if I may, because it's a critical one in my view, and that's companies that demonstrate transparency.

The key word here is demonstrate.

So any company can publish their governance code, list their board members, and talk about sustainability.

But it's the companies that actively demonstrate transparency and their everyday behavior that tend to stand out.

For example, making detailed disclosures about acquisitions, showing accountability when things go wrong and treating minorities fairly.

The last one is a biggie.

Companies that mistreat minorities will learn the hard way that investors have very long memories.

They may keep drinking your beer, but they won't touch your next capital raise or the one after that.

Yeah, that's really interesting.

Thanks for sharing that.