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Johannesburg, 18 May 2020 – The South African Rugby Legends Association (SARLA) is, first and foremost, an advocate for the upliftment of disadvantaged communities throughout South Africa.

Through their VUKA Rugby programme and other charitable initiatives, SARLA tra-ditionally directs its efforts at enriching young people and local communities through sports development. But with all sports on hold during lockdown, SARLA members are now finding other ways to help.

SARLA’s network of Rugby Legends, players and businesses are coming together to help the needy deal with the immediate effects of COVID-19 on their livelihoods and ability to feed themselves.

SARLA leadership actively encourages everyone in their network to do their part to help fight the effects of the pandemic; and so far, many have stepped up to answer the call.

On Sunday, 17 May, at 12h30, Rugby Legends and players, John Smit, Elton Jant-jies, Joel Stransky, Warren Brosnihan and other familiar faces flexed their muscles to fill trolleys Pick n Pay, Morningside Shopping Centre.

Each player grabbed a trolley and packed it with essentials like beans, pap, and sugar, then pushed their trolleys to the car park to unload and put together food parcels. Once parcels were packed, every player took them to be handed out to needy people in their area of choice. South Africa’s Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, also arrived to lend a hand with the food parcels.

Rugby legends fill trolleys for charity

Gavin Varejes, President of SARLA and CEO of Richmark Holdings, said, “I couldn’t be prouder of how our boys have stepped up to feed our communities. And I really hope that they serve as an inspiration for others in this challenging time.

“We’ve seen our network and our sponsors come off the bench to help out in a big way to fight the effects of COVID-19. We are hopeful that we can play a part in get-ting South Africa to bounce back quickly.”

SARLA’s Rugby Legends have kept extremely busy supporting community uplift-ment this year.

  • John Smit’s Epic Lockdown Ride for Food saw over 1000 cycling around their gardens to raise funds for needy communities.
  • Natural soft drink brand, Lemonlicious, joined SARLA in handing over food and cooldrinks at VUKA schools in Johannesburg.
  • Joel Stransky, Dave von Hoesslin and Wayne Boardman handed out food parcels around Gauteng.
  • Several Rugby Legends, including SARLA CEO, Stefan Terblanche, Dick Muir and Wayne Fyvie participated in the #SparDonate challenge.
  • Bizmark Du Plessis has launched an initiative making maize meal available at a highly reduced cost of R1.50.
  • SARLA’s Dale Santon conducted three food drops of 250 food parcels to help over 1000 people in the Western Cape VUKA Rugby regions of Laven-der Hill, Mitchell’s Plain, Steenberg and Khayelitsha.

SARLA would like to say a special thanks to all the loyal sponsors who have made such a massive difference to these initiatives. Special thanks to Douglas Craigie Stevenson, CEO of Cell C, who was on-hand to offer support at Sunday’s trolley dash in Morningside and continues to be a loyal supporter of SARLA. And finally, thanks to Minister Lindiwe Zulu for her valued support.

Facebook: SARugbyLegendsAssociation
Twitter: @SARugbyLegends
Instagram: sarugbylegends

Infographic: How much money was raised with the CEO SleepOut?

Yet another successful Sun International CEO Sleep-Out took place this year. Here are some of results and beneficiaries.

Event-3-1

The 2016 CEO SleepOut saw South Africa’s C-Suite Members and Influencers spend a winter’s night on the streets gaining empathy for the homeless while raising funds for vulnerable communities.

“This year, just over R20 million was collected and banked so far,” said Gawie Marais, Partner at BDO, the CEO SleepOut Stakeholder Audit Partner. “Donations of R9 million will be awarded to the three Primary Beneficiary Partners equally; The ASHA Trust, Columba Leadership and The Steve Biko Foundation – all of which up-skill the youth and youth educators, or train in early childhood development. As just over R30 million was pledged, a further R10 million will also be divided equally and awarded to those Beneficiary Partners when collected,” said Darren Olivier, Trustee.

Caxton and CTP Publishers was one of the Stakeholders at the event with both Tim Holden, Executive Director and Jaco Koekemoer, Managing Director participating in the actual sleep out.

Caxton also produced the Homeless Talk supplement for the event as a fundraiser this year. The supplement took a look at the representation of homeless people, as well as factors that affect homelessness in SA. A nationally representative data study found that 14 million South Africans go hungry every day. Eleven schools registered and took part in the CEO SleepOut this year.

Summary of funds raised:

number one

The remaining funds were used to manage this mammoth operation and its associated logistics, with R3 million being kept in reserve to launch The 2017 Event. Over two years, R34 million has been donated to charity, representing 73% of The Project’s income revenue.

number 2

The C-suit members and ambassadors 

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The CEOs who raised the most funds were Brett Levy, Joint Chief Executive Officer, Blue Label Telecoms Ltd, Paul Dunne, Chief Executive Officer, Northam Platinum Ltd, and Gavin Varejes, Executive Chairman, Richmark Holdings.

The primary and secondary beneficiaries included:

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Secondary Beneficiaries in 2016 included Homeless Talk, The Salvation Army, and Gift of the Givers, which all benefited from The Projects affiliated to The CEO SleepOut.

The full participant numbers

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More CEO SleepOut results

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Article originally published midrandreporter.co.za

PRIVATE equity investment company Universal Partners has announced its intention to list, although it does not yet have any assets into which to pump the R1bn it plans to raise from the initial public offering.

The Mauritian-based company said on Monday it would seek a secondary listing on the JSE’s alternative exchange, AltX, after raising £80m from the private placing of its shares.

The fledgling company — it was incorporated and registered in Mauritius just three months ago — has already secured £60m of this amount from anchor investors such as Global Capital; a consortium that includes Universal Partners chief financial officer David Vinokur and Investec Bank; Richmark Holdings; and Credo Wealth.

Richmark is an investment holding company led by Gavin Varejes, while Credo Wealth is an adviser with £2bn in assets under administration.

Vinokur said three Universal Partners executives would collectively pledge "at least R75m".

"The money raised will be transferred to Mauritius on listing and will be converted into (British pounds)," said Vinokur. "These funds will be invested into a combination of short-term money market, fixed deposits, and negotiable certificate of deposit instruments earning interest, until such time that appropriate investments are found."

This marks a departure from Ethos Private Equity, which is listing a separate vehicle, Ethos Capital Partners, to give mass market investors access to new and existing funds.

"There are currently no investments in Universal," Vinokur said.

"We made a strategic decision not to make any investments prior to listing in order to avoid any perception that the founding shareholders were getting any benefit on listing."

Vinokur said Universal Partners had a pipeline of potential investments, and planned to make its first investment within six months of listing.

"Universal’s primary objective is to achieve strong capital appreciation in (British pounds) over the medium to long term by investing in high-quality, cash-generative companies that meet the investment criteria set out in the company’s investment policy," he said.

It would also be an active shareholder in investee companies. Universal Partners is on an investor roadshow.

It intends to open its private placement on August 4. He said Universal Partners had received positive feedback during its meetings with investors.

The company wants to invest 80% of the cash raised in unlisted companies across Europe, specifically in the UK, with the rest of the funds earmarked for investment elsewhere.

Vinokur said he did not think the listing meant that traditional private equity was dying.

"We believe there will always be a place for the existing private equity model, especially in relation to where money is raised from institutional investors," he said.

Universal Partners to list on AltX and then seek investments

This article was originally published on Business Day

Gavin Varejes is currently 2nd on the list for most funds raised for the CEO sleep out 2016 just below Brett Levy from Blue Label Telecoms

Six CEOs from the South African tech industry are among the top 20 business leaders who have, so far, raised the most money for The Sun International CEO SleepOut.

The event will take place on the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein on Thursday night. It will see business leaders sleep on the streets for an evening, with a sleeping bag and cardboard floor-covering, to raise money and awareness of the plight of the homeless.

The CEO SleepOut Web site explains: "While this does not begin to simulate the reality of South Africa's most vulnerable children, it is a show of solidarity and a commitment to use business as a force for change."

Each CEO is required to commit to raising R160 000, and there is a leader board that shows how much each has raised so far.

In second place is Brett Levy, joint-CEO of Blue Label Telecoms, who has raised R347 500 already. Last year, he raised the most, achieving over R380 000.

His brother Mark Levy is at ninth with R184 000. MTN SA CEO Mteto Nyati has raised R171 100 so far and is in 12th place. In 16th place, Isaac Mophatlane, CEO of Business Connexion, has raised R163 830. He is followed by JJ Milner, MD of Global Micro Solutions, who has raised R161 800. Mark Rayner, CEO of MultiChoice SA, has raised R161 370 and is placed 19th.

These positions and figures are subject to change as more money is raised in the lead up to Thursday.

This year, the CEOs will each be joined by a staff member from their organisation, a student, and a matric learner. The idea is that these additional people, who show future business leader potential, will be able to network during the evening.

Last year, the event raised over R26 million for Girls & Boys Town. It was the largest sum raised by a single South African charity event.

It was also the largest amount of funds raised for any inaugural CEO SleepOut event. Sydney hosted its 10th event last year and Johannesburg raised more than Sydney did in its first year.

This year, there will be three beneficiaries − Asha Trust, Columbia Leadership and the Steve Biko Foundation − that will each receive an equal share of the net proceeds from the event.

The challenge was founded in 2006 in Australia and has since become a global movement, and aims to make businesses have a broader mandate than profits on its agenda.

CEO sleep out 2016

Gavin Varejes was nominated and has taken up the challenge by Brett Levy, Joint Chief Executive Officer at Blue Label Telecoms, to participate in The Sun International CEO SleepOut™, where business leaders will spend the night on The Nelson Mandela Bridge on Thursday 28 July 2016, gaining empathy and raising funds for education – a vital step on the road to eliminating homelessness.

In turn, Gavin took up the same opportunity to challenge Andrew Dunn from DNI to take up the same opportunity, which he gladly accepted.

What is the CEO Sleepout
The world is full of innovators and entrepreneurs, but there is a new world order when it comes to thinking about philanthropy. Today we talk of “social entrepreneurs” and “social innovation” that turns profits into positive change. Leading this new world order in South Africa is The CEO SleepOutTM.
Founded in 2015, The CEO SleepOutTM brand’s desire is to create a force for positive change and sustainable social impact in South Africa’s most vulnerable communities and societies, by forging relationships with those in a position of power and influence. Believing that the “old” system of raising funds and donations has run its course, The CEO SleepOutTM brand aims to create new, mindful fund-raising, where money is raised alongside understanding, empathy and deep insight into the lives of vulnerable, homeless South Africans.

It wants to give the “Have Gots” the chance to experience a short time as “Have Nots”, to awaken compassion in our leaders, to understand there is no “Us” and “Them” – only a “We”. The brand offers a chance to bring together people with enough financial and social influence to truly make a difference. It’s Capitalism With A Conscience.

The first wave of this new way of thinking about philanthropy washed over South Africa at the inaugural CEO SleepOutTM Event in 2015. Originating from The Vinnies Sleepout event held in Sydney, Australia in 2006, the CEO SleepOutTM Event on 16 June 2015 saw 247 CEOs and business leaders trade their Porches for the pavement, and spend the night outdoors on the freezing street of Millionaire’s Mile, Gwen Lane in Sandton. The event – the most successful fund-raising event in the history of South Africa – raised more than R26-million overnight. This year, The CEO SleepOutTMwill focus on EDUCATION and its role in helping to reduce homelessness.

The CEO SleepOut 2016