Botswana’s Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) has received a merger notification for Debswana Pension Fund’s (DPF) proposed acquisition of 50 percent of Bona Life Insurance (Pty) Ltd from its holding company, Foudello (Pty) Ltd, under a share purchase agreement. DPF is a defined-contribution pension fund established in 1984 through a joint initiative involving Debswana’s predecessor entities. The fund controls Mmila Fund Administrators and reported P11.9 billion in assets under management as at 30 June 2025, according to its half-year results.
The transaction targets an insurer with a chequered ownership and regulatory history. Bona Life began operations in June 2014 as Bramer Life Botswana, with Mauritius-based British American Investment Corporation (BAIC), part of the BAI Group, holding 80 percent and citizen investors 20 percent. That structure collapsed in April 2015 when the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) placed the insurer under statutory management following the regional fallout from the BAI/Bramer group crisis.
The business later re-emerged under Foudello (Pty) Ltd, backed by a local shareholder consortium led by Botswana Opportunities Partnership (BOP), a private equity vehicle largely funded by the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF). The insurer was rebranded Bona Life after severing ties with its offshore parent.
Governance disputes and capital pressures resurfaced in 2020, prompting NBFIRA to again place Bona Life under statutory management. The turmoil was linked to a wider dispute around BOP, including allegations involving its then-manager, Capital Management Botswana, which was later liquidated.
Control subsequently consolidated under BPOPF. By late 2021, BOP had acquired all remaining minority stakes, and the CCA now lists Foudello as effectively owned by BPOPF. In February 2022, BPOPF injected P130 million into Bona Life to stabilise the insurer following statutory management.
