AFRICA – Bowmans, an African lawfirm has expanded into Mauritius and Ethiopia, enabling it to unlock more opportunities for its clients and contacts on the African continent.
Bowmans will open the two offices via combination with a Mauritian law firm FirmWise and an alliance with Ethiopian firm Aman Assefa & Associates Law Office.
Robert Legh, Chairman and Senior Partner, said: “This move, which is effective from October 1, 2019, is an investment in the ambitions and success of our clients across Africa.”
“Mauritius and Ethiopia are key jurisdictions for many of our clients and our presence on the ground there will help us to better support them.”
Bowmans has opened a fully-fledged office in Mauritius, having joined forces with FirmWise, a local firm that specialises in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, investment funds, tax, compliance and private equity.
“This development will benefit our clients as Mauritius is increasingly positioning itself as a recognised international financial centre and has favourable laws for foreign investors to establish their African headquarters prior to expanding further on the continent,” said Legh.
The new office, to be known as Bowmans (Mauritius) Ltd, will be a fully integrated part of Bowmans, composed of a team of six lawyers led by managing partner Fazil Hossenkhan, who founded FirmWise and is well known as a private equity funds lawyer, and Shianee Calcutteea, a partner specialising in corporate and M&A work.
Their initial focus will be on assisting private equity and other corporate clients in their Mauritius setup and on structuring their investments around Africa, as well as on banking and finance transactions.
Commenting on the decision to join Bowmans, Hossenkhan said the firm has an impressive reputation. “We are proud to become part of a recognised leader on the continent and to work alongside them on the complex, challenging legal work for which Bowmans is known.
“It presents a unique opportunity by which we can significantly build upon our service offering to our clients.”
Aman Assefa, Managing Partner of Aman Assefa & Associates Law Office, which specialises in high-end corporate and transactional legal matters, said there are numerous benefits in working with a recognised African law firm of Bowmans’ calibre.
As a result of these developments, the Bowmans is now present in six key African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
The firm expects that business will continue to grow in all of these markets as its clients take advantage of the growth opportunities which are available.
