Sikho: The powerbroker behind Dangote’s billion-dollar Zimbabwe comeback

STAFF WRITER

When Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote landed in Harare last week to finalise his more than US$1 billion investment deal with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces, individuals many Zimbabweans could not immediately identify.

A small group of  business executives received Dangote at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, among them Presidential Investment Advisor Paul Tungwarara and investment facilitator Josephine Mahachi.

But one of the more enigmatic personalities present was Senziwani Sikhosana, a quiet, astute operator who prefers working in the boardroom shadows rather than in the glare of publicity.

It is only in recent months that the question of who Sikhosana really is has begun to surface, as his influence increasingly speaks louder than words.

The Dangote deal has amplified that curiosity.

Outside banking, treasury and corporate finance circles, very few knew him.

Yet for at least 25 years, he has been a formidable, if understated, force in the professional and entrepreneurial world, setting up businesses and executing complex financial transactions with precision.

Before the Dangote breakthrough, Sikhosana — often referred to simply as “Sikho” by industry colleagues — had made only a handful of notable public appearances. Among them were the 2023 London Investment Conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, which he co-organised alongside the Ministry of Finance, the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange and a UK consultancy. He was one of the key speakers at the high-profile gathering attended by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, seasoned executives, British capital market players and international investors.

He again stepped briefly into the spotlight at the launch of TX Money Transfer in mid-2024 in Harare’s Africa Unity Square — a platform designed to enhance reliability, transparency and efficiency in remittances while promoting financial inclusion.

Still, one question lingered: Who exactly is Senziwani Sikhosana?

Today, he is the chief executive officer of Bard Santner Incorporated, a Harare-headquartered financial services advisory firm with interests in corporate finance, asset and wealth management, microfinance and remittances. Bard Santner also invests in sports sponsorships — football, golf and cricket — and maintains a Sandton office in Johannesburg, along with a strategic outpost in New York to facilitate international advisory work and global capital flows.

Working closely with colleagues Tatenda Hungwe, Lucia Chingwaru and Mahachi, Sikhosana became the architect of the Dangote deal — a process requiring meticulous planning, countless meetings and flawless execution.

Zimbabwe has hosted many investment negotiations, but the significance of this engagement lies in the confidence-building momentum and the positive contagion effect associated with bringing Africa’s richest man — and the world’s wealthiest black person, with operations in 17 countries — back to Zimbabwe. Previous attempts in 2015 and 2018 had faltered. This time, the breakthrough was strategic and consequential.

While the deal will not instantly solve Zimbabwe’s many economic challenges, it is set to deliver meaningful foreign direct investment inflows, new employment opportunities and a badly needed boost to investor sentiment. Dangote’s planned projects — cement manufacturing, coal mining, power generation and a major multi-country fuel pipeline linked to his upcoming Atlantic-coast refinery in Namibia — represent one of the largest and most ambitious investment portfolios Zimbabwe has attracted in decades.

Sikhosana’s financial expertise and discipline were central to bringing Dangote back to the table. For 16 months, he and his team worked quietly behind the scenes, engaging in discreet negotiations that culminated in a landmark agreement with government. The effort not only elevated Sikhosana’s public profile but also helped reposition Zimbabwe as a credible investment destination.

The breakthrough moment came in June 2025 at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, where Sikhosana and his colleagues finally met Dangote face-to-face after months of courting his interest. A follow-up meeting in Lagos — including a tour of the massive Dangote Refinery — confirmed the industrialist’s renewed willingness to invest in Zimbabwe. But first, he needed assurances directly from President Mnangagwa on issues that had derailed earlier efforts: mining concessions, tax incentives, technical considerations, work permits for expatriates and investment security.

Sikhosana and his team worked to clear those hurdles with Mnangagwa, paving the way for last week’s high-profile visit and the signing of the investment agreement.

Professionally, Sikhosana is a banking and finance expert and a chartered management accountant with more than 25 years’ experience. He studied at the National University of Science and Technology, earning a Master’s degree in banking and commerce. His core expertise spans asset and liability management, fixed-income instruments, forex trading and treasury operations.

His career includes roles at National Merchant Bank, Trust Merchant Bank, Kingdom Merchant Bank and Interfin Merchant Bank. After banking, he diversified into transport logistics, establishing Burious Logistics, which grew into a fleet of 40 trucks operating across Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. He also founded Plastec Designs, a plastics manufacturer, and Refresh Industries, a fruit juice producer — ventures that gave him deep practical insight into industrial operations and FMCG markets under challenging economic conditions.

In 2016, he returned to finance, co-founding Access Finance Group, including Access Forex, where he served as shareholder and managing director, overseeing operations in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United Kingdom. After leaving Access Finance in 2022, he co-founded Bard Santner with Hungwe, Chingwaru and Alfred Mthimkhulu, an accomplished asset management specialist and Stellenbosch University finance lecturer.

Since then, Bard Santner has executed several major transactions — including a US$113 million property acquisition involving The Grove Mall of Namibia, the takeover of the Tetrad Financial Services managed client portfolio, and now, the headline-grabbing Dangote deal.

Sikhosana credits three industry giants with shaping his professional outlook: Julius Makoni, who instilled in him a sense of elegance and sophistication; Nigel Chanakira, who sharpened his rigorous technical grounding; and Farai Rwodzi, who ignited his entrepreneurial instincts. More recently, he has continued to gain valuable global exposure under the mentorship of Bard Santner chairperson Vinod Bussawah, a seasoned Mauritian financial executive.

With vast experience across banking, logistics, manufacturing, production and FMCG, the buccaneering Sikhosana is now working alongside Africa’s leading industrial titan.

Through Bard Santner — the nominated transaction advisor — he is currently steering the domestication of Dangote Group’s investment portfolio in Zimbabwe, marking the next defining chapter in an already remarkable career.