Chairman’s Message

Enter the 4th Industrial Revolution

Following the CEO’s presentation of the Company’s Transformation Plan in 2016 in view of the disruptive nature of the industry in which we operate, we are pleased to take note that the plan is well under implementation and just in time to embrace the 4th Industrial Revolution that is dawning upon us.

It is with a great sense of satisfaction that I present the 2017 Integrated Report of Anglo African Investments Ltd. This report communicates not only our financial results to our stakeholders but also our impact on the five capitals and Sustainable Development Goals.

Integrated Reporting [Innovation]

Last year we introduced “Capitals in Action” where we reported our KPIs through the Capitals and also introduced the concept of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations. This year we have brought the following innovation in our report:

  • as part of our strategic thinking exercise, we have estimated the ranking of the capitals in terms of their importance in each of the subsidiary and discussed on the capitals mix in ‘Our companies’ section.
  • careful thought has been given on how we can contribute to the SDGs. We have identified the top 5 SDGs for each of our subsidiaries and disclosed the high level initiatives we will take on pages 36-43.
  • we have introduced the materiality determination process and disclosed our material themes in the Risk Management section.
  • the disclosure relating to the heat map classification has been enhanced to make it a three dimensional Risk Management chart for our readers to understand our whole risk management through a single chart.

A ‘Statement of directors’ responsibility for the integrated report’ has also been included on page 29, which is a recommendation of the IIRC framework to disclose this statement within 3 years of adoption.

Year in Review [Performance]

In line with the Transformation plan presented in 2016, the Group has scaled down its operations in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Madagascar to focus more on developing business in Zambia.

The financial results of the Group were satisfactory, with profit after tax (PAT) amounting to MUR 18.4 million for FY2017, at par with last year’s PAT. As no dividend was declared, the Group’s equity and cash reserves were further consolidated to give a strong image of the Group to its stakeholders.

Accolade [Recognition]

We are very honoured to have been featured by the IIRC in its document “Creating Value – The cyclical power of integrated thinking and reporting”, whereby Anglo African has been featured on page 27 alongside global corporations such as Sanofi, Omron, General Electric, Unilever and Generali, in its section on ‘Business experiences of integrated thinking and reporting in action’.

Anglo African’s integrated report 2016 was nominated in the PwC Corporate Reporting Awards in the ‘Risk Management Disclosures (Non-Financial Institutions)’ category, and, for the second time in a row, won the award in the ‘Non-listed public interest entities and parastatals’ category, with a special mention of the jury for an example to follow!

In October 2017, one of our major business partners, Oracle, awarded us the ‘Oracle Volume Partner of the Year for Southern Africa’ in recognition of the sales achievement by InfoSystems.

Strategic Orientation [Organisational Transformation]

The transformation plan is proceeding well and we are satisfied that we might benefit from early harvests in FY2018. The Business Model, Governance and Risk Management Systems have been reviewed and adapted to the new organisational structure.

Appreciation

We are thankful to the Integrated Reporting & Sustainability Reporting Managers of a large global corporation and an Accounting Institution for having agreed to engage into peer review of our Integrated Report 2017. They have provided us with valuable insights and this is indeed a unique opportunity as we seek to penetrate the financial services industry internationally where trust and governance are of critical importance.

I would like to join other members of the Board to express our gratitude to Guillaume Ortscheit who retired from the Board in August 2017 after 3 years as Director, during which time he has shared and inculcated his ‘Technology’ expertise and values to the Board and executive management team.

We also express our thanks to Ali Jamaloodeen who retired from the Board in August 2017 in accordance with a planned rotation in Executive Directors on the Board, and welcome Liliane Li Chiu Lim as Executive Director from that date.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my fellow directors on the Anglo African Board for their continued support and wisdom and to the management team for their outstanding efforts and leadership during this transitional year.

As is customary, I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our customers who have provided their valuable patronage to the Group, without whom we would not be here!

Accolade [Recognition]

We are very honoured to have been featured by the IIRC in its document “Creating Value – The cyclical power of integrated thinking and reporting”, whereby Anglo African has been featured on page 27 alongside global corporations such as Sanofi, Omron, General Electric, Unilever and Generali, in its section on ‘Business experiences of integrated thinking and reporting in action’.

Anglo African’s integrated report 2016 was nominated in the PwC Corporate Reporting Awards in the ‘Risk Management Disclosures (Non-Financial Institutions)’ category, and, for the second time in a row, won the award in the ‘Non-listed public interest entities and parastatals’ category, with a special mention of the jury for an example to follow!

In October 2017, one of our major business partners, Oracle, awarded us the ‘Oracle Volume Partner of the Year for Southern Africa’ in recognition of the sales achievement by InfoSystems.

Strategic Orientation [Organisational Transformation]

The transformation plan is proceeding well and we are satisfied that we might benefit from early harvests in FY2018. The Business Model, Governance and Risk Management Systems have been reviewed and adapted to the new organisational structure.

Appreciation

We are thankful to the Integrated Reporting & Sustainability Reporting Managers of a large global corporation and an Accounting Institution for having agreed to engage into peer review of our Integrated Report 2017. They have provided us with valuable insights and this is indeed a unique opportunity as we seek to penetrate the financial services industry internationally where trust and governance are of critical importance.

I would like to join other members of the Board to express our gratitude to Guillaume Ortscheit who retired from the Board in August 2017 after 3 years as Director, during which time he has shared and inculcated his ‘Technology’ expertise and values to the Board and executive management team.

We also express our thanks to Ali Jamaloodeen who retired from the Board in August 2017 in accordance with a planned rotation in Executive Directors on the Board, and welcome Liliane Li Chiu Lim as Executive Director from that date.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my fellow directors on the Anglo African Board for their continued support and wisdom and to the management team for their outstanding efforts and leadership during this transitional year.

As is customary, I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our customers who have provided their valuable patronage to the Group, without whom we would not be here!

Jean-Claude Béga
Chairman
6th November 2017