Facilitating Market Access

The Rhombus thesis is that managers can significantly enhance performance with a selective allocation to Africa’s frontier markets.

• The firm has logged several “firsts”, securing entry into previously inaccessible markets.
• The process is typically preceded by a prolonged diplomatic offensive seeking approvals from the local authorities*.
• Countries in which such landmark transactions have been arranged include Angola, Botswana and The Gambia.

*Accessed via a derivative structure, Botswana was a conspicuous exception to this rule.

Case study

Retained to secure access to Angola’s money market, then closed to foreign investors, Rhombus engaged with three successive finance ministers and the Banco Nacional de Angola over an 18‐month period, emphasizing the economic and political dividends to be gained from permitting offshore participation.