Ex-KQ boss Ngunze joins private equity firm Catalyst

East African-focused private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners has tapped former Kenya Airways #ticker:KQ chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze as a senior adviser at a time the fund is eyeing more acquisitions locally.

Mr Ngunze is advising Catalyst on operations and strategy. The appointment is among several he has taken up following his premature departure in 2017 from the national carrier where Polish national Sebastian Mikosz succeeded him.

Catalyst chief executive Paul Kavuma said the PE firm would benefit from Mr Ngunze’s expertise.

“We always tap local expertise to run our complex businesses,” Mr Kavuma told the Business Daily.

Mr Ngunze’s past experience include finance director of cement manufacturer Bamburi #ticker:BAMB.

He currently holds several directorships including at domestic carrier Safarilink Aviation, Bamburi and Kenya Association of Air Operators.

Catalyst announced last November that it plans to invest up to Sh6.23 billion in Kenya’s mid-sized and emerging firms in the near term following successful fundraising.

Mr Kavuma said in an interview at the time that between 35 and 40 percent of the Sh15.57 billion ($153 million) it raised in the second growth capital drive would target growth-hungry ventures in Kenya with potential to generate net cumulative returns of at least 20 percent in six years.

Catalyst’s capital raising drive attracted 22.4 percent more cash than the first fund, which raised $125 million (Sh12.7 billion) in 2009.

The PE firm and its rivals are raising ever-larger sums in what is expected to raise competition in acquisitions.