OUR OPERATING PRINCIPLES

Altica Partners was founded in the belief that there are compelling investment opportunities in Growth Markets across Sub-Saharan Africa.

We have established a set of business principles that define the way in which we conduct business, that represent our values and beliefs, and that continually inspire us to be better, a process known as “iterative optimisation”.

These principles govern our approach to business management, decision-making, investing and advising clients.

1 WE PUT OUR CLIENTS FIRST

Our success is contingent on our partners, portfolio cozmpanies and clients’ success: we want the bulk of our business to continue to come from their referrals.

This is why:

We aim to generate superior returns on capital for our investors over the medium term.
Our focus on our portfolio companies is to help them grow, not only by the provision of capital but through the diffusion of strategic advice, skills, international best practice and technology - we want to serve them better than our competitors.

2 COLLABORATION

We emphasise the importance of having the right people working in collaboration, who share our values, and are motivated by a common set of goals.

This means:

Thinking and behaving like founders: enterprising, taking direct initiative and responsibility.
Consciously outcome-orientated, not purely process-driven so we stimulate original thinking and foster an atmosphere of transparency, open-mindedness, constructive engagement and positive disruption.

3 TALENT & OPPORTUNITY

We seek to employ the best talent. Beyond compelling academics and professional experience, we place particular emphasis on integrity, ambition and self-motivation and intelligence.

Therefore:

We believe diverse individual talent creates a collectively talented firm and that career progression should only be contingent on merit, never on tenure and internal networks. Our responsibility is to ensure this happens.
In return, we want to develop our employees and give them direct, faster access to career opportunities they would not get elsewhere.

4 EXECUTION & RISK

We strive to execute all aspects of our business with clarity, impact and confidence. We act within our circle of competence and only invest where we convincingly believe we understand the reward/risk ratio. This means we need to understand risk, its perception and impact better than our competitors.

To achieve this:

We need to ensure our views are well-founded and internally consistent. This approach is as much about mentality as it is technique.
We always aim to reduce complex ideas down to simple concepts. Beyond logic and empirical analysis, we stress-test our ideas and methodologies by team-driven debate using the Socratic method.

5 POSITIVE IMPACT &COMMITMENT

Operating in Sub-Saharan Africa is our passion. It has a broader sphere of influence relating ultimately to communities and individuals. We want to make a tangible difference, empower and champion self-determination.

So, where we operate:

We look for transactions where a positive multiplier impact on economic development, productivity, employment and prosperity; as well as helping to alleviate inequality.
We seek to deepen domestic financial markets by providing knowledge or liquidity, thereby aiding price discovery and transparency.
We work collaboratively with our clients and portfolio companies, sharing our knowledge, experiences and international best practice.
Our investment process prioritises assessing governance as a key criterion to ensure rigorous accountability and transparency. Social and environmental impact assessment is also crucial in identifying investment opportunities and mitigating risks.
We will be bold in constructively engaging with policy-makers, business communities and political leaders how best to optimise the conditions for economic growth in order to encourage other private investors to do the same.