Wilderness Holdings Ltd, a leading ecotourism group with operations in seven African countries and listed on the Botswana and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges, has sold off 58% of its shares to two entities: The Rise Fund, and FS Investors.

Wilderness Safaris CEO,  Keith Vincent , who has welcomed the company’s newest shareholders, said: “We believe that the Rise Fund and FS Investors are going to be significant partners and contributors to helping us achieve our vision, and to continue to grow and build more sustainable conservation economies in Africa.”

The Rise Fund, a global investment fund committed to achieving measurable social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns, announced on Thursday (July 12), its second investment in Africa, as it acquired a 34% stake in Wilderness Holdings.

The board of The Rise Fund comprises a number of notable individuals, including world-famous U2 singer-songwriter, Bono, and Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson.

In an entirely separate trade, FS Investors, through its affiliate African Wildlife Investments, bought a 24% stake in Wilderness Holdings.

“This is a great opportunity to partner with an important Africa-grown company to help them expand their business while building on their long track record and history of sustainability and environmental and social impact across the continent,” said Bill McGlashan, Co-Founder and CEO of The Rise Fund and Founder and Managing Partner of TPG Growth, a company specialising in growth equity and middle-market buyout opportunities.

Yemi Lalude, Managing Partner at TPG in Africa said: “We look forward to ushering in a new era of growth with the company and, in doing so, helping them expand their commitment to conservation.”

Mike Stone, Chief Investment Officer of the Rise Fund, added that Wilderness Holdings had the potential to create a significant environmental and economic impact within Africa. “The prospect of helping this business grow is a thrilling one for all of us at The Rise Fund and, looking ahead, we see immense potential in partnering with entrepreneurs across Africa,” added Stone.

Speaking on The Rise Fund acquisition, Vincent said Wilderness Holdings was proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with such like-minded individuals. According to Vincent, Wilderness has always been dedicated to a purpose-driven approach, based on its four Cs’ sustainability ethos of Commerce, Community, Culture and Conservation, offering guests journeys with a ‘purpose’.  

 “As a company proudly born and bred in Botswana 35 years ago, we are even more committed to our founding vision than ever before: to conserve and restore Africa’s wilderness and wildlife by creating life-changing journeys and inspiring positive action,” said Vincent.

Under Wilderness Holdings Ltd are a number of responsible ecotourism companies, such as Wilderness Safaris and Governor’s Camp Collection, that together use responsible tourism to build sustainable conservation economies in Africa. Both Wilderness Safaris and Governor’s Camp Collection operate safaris and camps across Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

At the same time, Wilderness supports the conservation of six million acres of protected land – home to several endangered and at-risk species, such as the Black rhino and Mountain gorilla.

In addition, Wilderness has initiated programmes to reintroduce threatened wildlife back into its former range areas, as well as rehabilitate existing natural environments through dedicated management programmes. Wilderness works closely with local community leaders and aims to drive local economic growth by creating stable, well-paying jobs in the communities in which it operates.

Wilderness Holdings has a 100% subsidiary, Wilderness Air, an airline specialising in transportation to remote areas. Wilderness Holdings also founded and continues to support two non-profit trusts focused on conservation and community empowerment: Wilderness Wildlife Trust, which supports research, conservation, community empowerment, and anti-poaching initiatives, and Children in the Wilderness, an environmental education and youth development programme for local children living in the areas adjacent to the wildlife areas where Wilderness camps are situated.