Phatisa announces new partner to its team – Peter van As

PRESS OFFICE: Phatisa

Peter van As

Peter van As

Phatisa welcomes Peter van As, a seasoned commercial professional, in joining the firm as Partner – Portfolio Management, commencing August 2014.

Much of Peter’s 28-year career to date has been focused on emerging markets for multi-nationals, including Dutch dairy businesses (DOMO and FRICO), Unilever (Europe, Latin America and Africa), Smollan (sub-Saharan Africa) and DIAGEO (GM – Angola). He has been an active member on a number of boards both in Africa and North America.

Soon after completing his Masters in Economics, Peter joined Unilever where he spent close to 20 years including roles in developing markets in east, central and southern Africa including Marketing & Sales Director (Zimbabwe) and Managing Director (Mozambique and Tanzania). His last position being Director Market Development, Unilever Central Africa before joining DIAGEO in 2012.

He specialises in setting up businesses from scratch, establishing go-to-market systems and processes. The essence is building brand equities by making relevant products available and visible in the market. This entails reaching the bottom of the pyramid of the market: rural and high-density urban areas. Such skills will add a valuable dimension to the Phatisa team.

Peter was born and bred in Latin America and has spent a number of years working and living in Africa; including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Angola. He speaks English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese.

“Phatisa welcomes Peter to the African Agriculture Fund (AAF) team. We are confident that he will greatly enhance our portfolio management with his vast commercial experience and proven skillset, providing valuable support to the AAF portfolio companies,” Senior Managing Partner, Duncan Owen commented.


About Phatisa

Phatisa logo_235x140Phatisa is an African private equity fund manager, operating across sub-Saharan Africa, with offices in Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, as well as London. The firm has two sector-specific funds under management, totalling more than US$285m focused on food and affordable housing.

Phatisa comprises a team with a significant track record of managing private equity funds and businesses throughout the continent. Phatisa’s flagship fund, the African Agriculture Fund, has committed investments in excess of US$100m, from Sierra Leone in West Africa to Madagascar, East Africa and eight other countries in between. This reflects a total of 12 investments across diverse sectors: primary farming, palm oil, processing, inputs, mechanisation, fertiliser, protein production and FMCG beverages. Phatisa also introduced an Eastern and Southern African investment initiative in response to the ever-increasing housing shortage – the Pan African Housing Fund (PAHF). The Fund first closed at US$41.5m in December 2012, commenced operations during Q1 2013 and has a final close target of US$100m

At the heart of Phatisa is development equity, as embodied in the unique formula of DevEq = PAT * x + i 2 ™; a balanced blend of private equity and development finance – striving to build sustainable assets on the ground; insuring best possible returns for investors, including the community in which these operate.

www.phatisa.com