South African firm takes full control of Makini Schools

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed Advtech has bought additional shares in Makini Schools, giving it full control over the running of the 42-year old institution.

Advtech has informed parents that its ownership in the school has increased to 90 percent after its other partners — Scholé International and Caerus Capital — sold some of their shares to the South African company.

Advtech had in 2018 acquired a 71 percent stake in the high-end group of schools from the Makini Schools founder Mary Okello for Sh1 billion with the other two foreign investors holding the remaining shares.

Now, Scholé International, which had a 25 percent stake, will jointly have a 10 percent ownership of Makini with US-based investment firm Caerus Capital, which earlier controlled four percent of the school.

“It means that Advtech is taking over the responsibility of the operational management of Makini. The Scholé team will no longer manage the schools,” Makini Schools said in a notice sent to parents on Monday.

“The shareholders agreed that we need to simplify the management of the school and give Makini Schools more comprehensive and direct access to the resources of Advtech.”

Ms Okello, a resilient entrepreneur who was the first African woman to become a Barclays Bank of Kenya branch manager in 1977, said the foreign investments would improve standards at the schools.

Founded in Nairobi in 1978, Makini operates schools in wealthy areas of Nairobi and Kisumu.

It runs junior, middle and upper schools and is owned by indigenous Kenyans.

Scholé runs schools in Africa and already owns Crested Crane Academy and Pestalozzi Education Centre in Lusaka, Zambia and Kisubi High School in Kampala, Uganda.

The listed Advtech ranks as one of Africa’s largest education investor, with 100 schools and colleges in South Africa and Botswana.