Ukhamba Holdings: Background

Naledi Pandor opens Imperial/ Ukhamba Resource Centre at Inkululeko Yesizwe Primary School

February 17, 2009

Imperial Holdings and Ukhamba Holdings, its BEE Partner today joined forces with Minister of Education Naledi Pandor to open the new Resource Centre at Inkululeko Yesizwe Primary School in Vlakfontein, an informal settlement south of Johannesburg. The Imperial Group has donated R3 million for the establishment of the resource centre which is set to make a significant impact on the school’s ability to provide quality education. This Resource Centre donated by the Imperial Group is fully equipped with a staffroom, general office, kitchen, bookroom, printing room, sick room, TV equipment and library books. In addition, the Imperial Group has started building a school hall at Tsepana Primary School in Orange Farm costing R3 million which will be completed in the next three months.

The Imperial & Ukhamba Community Development Trust has been working with Inkululeko Yesizwe Primary School since 2004, and has contributed a total of R5 million and also ensures that its contribution to the school takes a holistic approach. The Trust has been involved in all aspects of the school’s development: providing the Experico Numeracy Programme, supplying textbooks, providing training for educators, developing a library with over 2000 books, providing desks and educational excursions, building a soccer field and a netball court, and in its latest development, contributing a Resource Centre. The benefits of the Trust’s assistance are now emerging at every level – from the school management teams to the youngest learners. In particular, the Experico Numeracy Programme is boosting mathematics performance to unprecedented levels.

Officiating at the ceremony, Imperial Holdings’ CEO, Hubert Brody, commented: “Since Imperial’s involvement with the school, levels of numeracy have improved by approximately 30%. This is a significant step towards building a new generation of learners to fill the skills shortage currently facing South Africa. We are proud to be part of a project that was the dream of the late Bill Lynch, a founder member of Imperial Holdings Ltd”.

The Trust is currently involved with other primary schools, Tshepana Primary in Orange Farm and Finetown Primary School in Finetown. A total of R12 million has been donated in the duration of the project. It remains committed to ensuring that schools can offer the best primary education possible to all learners.

For more information contact:
Shayda Arbee,
Project Manager
083 449 0044

Investors receive more than 1500% return on their investment in Ukhamba Holdings

Johannesburg, May 2008: Ukhamba Holdings, a diverse Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Investment Company ny has broken boundaries with huge returns in the current volatile investment environment. It was only about less than ten (10) years ago when Ukhamba Holdings received a R15m interest free loan from Imperial to start an investment vehicle that would invest in companies that were looking for credible BEE partners. The humble beginning of Ukhamba Holding was a response to government’s plan of increasing black participation in the mainstream economy through BBBEE...

Ukhamba has finally rewarded all its members who helped with the start-up capital to top up the original interest free loan from Imperial. By December 2007, our members had raised more than R35 million of their own money. Since the beginning of the scheme, members were asked to contribute by purchasing a unit for a minimum R50 per month in what was known as the ‘A’ scheme to help Ukhamba Raise its capital and today, Ukhamba pays back R812 for every unit which originally cost R50. This represents a return of more than 1 500% in less than 10 years. This is surely not according to industry and investment trends. We are proud that the investments that Ukhamba made were able to make such returns. We are yet to see such returns that people in similar circumstances have experienced.