Staff Profile – Hugo Azevedo
Name: Hugo Azevedo
Title: Senior Investment Director
When did you join Arise and why?
I joined in July 2017, six months after the official launch. I had been working in banking across sub-Saharan Africa for regional banks. Whilst this was a very good experience the role regional and international banks play in Africa is different from the large local banks. Arise provided an opportunity for me to fulfil my objectives to contribute more directly to the development of the local economies, with its existing portfolio in leading banks and mandate to promote local prosperity and financial inclusion.
What does your role at Arise entail?
I manage our investments in four of our partner banks, coordinating the investment monitoring, value creation initiatives and reporting function. I also focus on finding and executing transactions in alignment with our investment strategy.
What aspect of your job do you enjoy?
I enjoy the interaction with the stakeholders at the partner banks and those involved in potential transactions most. This includes building strong working relationships, finding practical solutions to often complex challenges and constantly learning about Africa and its people.
What has your top 3 highlights been?
There were so many highlights, but the following stands out:
Our transactions in Mozambique and contribution to the continued development of Moza Banco, the NMB share transfer in December 2020 and my role on the Board of Socremo have been key highlights.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
At times balancing the expectations and understanding of the different stakeholders can be a challenge, particularly given the diverse backgrounds and experiences from different continents. It can also be tough to perform simple tasks on our continent, which are taken for granted in other parts of the world, due to infrastructure challenges, such as quality of the internet connections, availability of flights, etc.
Sum up Arise in one sentence
The largest investor in financial services in Sub- Saharan Africa, with long term capital, no predetermined exits and an unwavering focus on promoting local prosperity, financial inclusion and Agri – financing.
