Leading with purpose: Shital Shah
The Adili Group recently underwent a transformative brand refresh, to reflect its position as a leading pan-African corporate consultancy, offering specialist and legal support to businesses; at any stage of their life cycle. This rebrand set the pace for the company to expand to new territories, whilst the group continues to cement its existing presence within East Africa.
Our Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Shital Shah, spoke about the Adili Group legacy, drawing insights from its 12 years of existence, as well as its ambitious expansion plans. A few highlights from the conversation:
Q. Can you tell us a bit about the Adili Group and its history? How did the company get started, and what have been some of its major milestones over the years?
SS: Adili Group started in 2010 as Chunga Associates, providing company secretarial services for businesses operating in or expanding to Kenya. In 2011, it merged with another established company in the secretarial business, Specialists Consultants. This merger facilitated the growth of its client base and services, leading to a regional expansion into Tanzania in 2017. In 2019, the firm was rebranded ‘Adili’ following another successful acquisition, and the opening of our Ugandan office. We have plans to enter Rwanda in the coming year and are evaluating opportunities in other African markets.
The Adili group is now positioned as a leading corporate consultancy advisory firm that is fully equipped to help businesses of all sizes, across multiple markets, to innovate and grow. We offer support at any stage of the business cycle, from foundation to cessation. Such support is led by our specialised teams of corporate secretarial practitioners, governance auditors, licensed insolvency practitioners, accountants and other experts across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, who deliver comprehensive solutions to our clients.
Q. What are the biggest opportunities and challenges that Adili’s clients, and the markets you serve, are facing in the current climate? How is the company working to address these challenges and help organisations seize growth opportunities?
SS: Africa is home to exciting, emerging markets; but the fastest-growing economies often face unique challenges that can make it difficult for companies to succeed and grow. Some of the prevalent challenges we have seen in recent years include regulatory barriers, changes in the legal and regulatory environment, rapidly evolving technology, extremely high operating costs, and limited access to finance.
However, we also see numerous opportunities emerging in Africa as the continent continually receives the attention of global investors. Indeed, according to research by the Nanyang Technological University in 2022, Africa attracted USD 4.8 billion worth of funding, 75% of which went to the ‘big four’ markets i.e., Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa.
Nigeria and South Africa had slight declines in the funding received compared to the previous year, whereas Kenya and Egypt, on the other hand, reported significant increases. From a sectoral perspective, Energy, Logistics & Transport, Retail, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Agriculture & Food, and Deeptech were among the key industries that saw big investments.
Adili is positioned to support the transformation of businesses across the aforementioned sectors through comprehensive packages for compliance, risk management and the establishment of robust controls. In this regard, we are maintaining a close relationship with the relevant regulators to keep us abreast of the changing regulatory landscape, ensuring that our clients consistently remain in good legal standing. Quality remains non-negotiable to us, and we commit to focusing our time, energy, and resources on the best solutions for clients’ needs.
Q. What is driving Adili Group’s key plans and directives for the next 12 months in expanding its service offering and growing its business across Africa?
SS: We recognise that our clients’ needs and markets constantly evolve. With this in mind, we are taking measures to remain agile and adaptive to the changing economic and geopolitical environment by closely monitoring and adapting to the market’s needs.
Additionally, we are focused on building strategic partnerships with trade associations and industry regulators, whilst leveraging existing relationships and local talent whenever possible to promote the local economy.
Our close link with the ALN alliance remains a strong asset that gives us access to the best commercial and legal minds with commercial insights to help us tackle the African market and increase our footprint. We are keen on building this relationship for increased capacity, responsiveness, and quality of service. This is key as we expand our strong brand identity across Africa.
