Submitted by mahesh_admin on July 14, 2023
Ecotourism Wildlife Economy
R20 Million - R50 Million
Limpopo
Article Image
Selwane Nature Reserve
Short Description
Selwane Nature Reserve is a designated Biodiversity Stewardship Site with Protected Area status offering a wide range of wildlife species, luxury accommodation and trophy hunting.

Goal

Selwane is proposing to build a conference centre to promote community-based tourism and increase visitor traffic The site is looking to add over 2000 ha in additional farmland, which would be used to develop a conservancy for rhinos and other game. The Reserve intends to purchase game stock to promote the wildlife safari and hunting business to potential clients/tourists. Introducing cattle ranching is a strategic priority for the site.

Investment Range / ROI

R20 Million - R50 Million
ROI - 15% pa

Public or Private Sector

This is a Private Sector Opportunity

Investment Readiness

Environment & Social Impact

• Ecotourism Development
• Job Creation
• Skills Development
• SMME Development
• Expansion of Protected Areas 

SDGs

Investment Opportunity Assessment

 

Land Ownership and Governance

Land Ownership

Fully Restituted land with title deeds
The land is owned by the Selwane Communal Property Association.

 

Governance Structure

Community Property Association
Joint Venture Partnership

The Joint Venture partnership between the CPA and SIABIX forms Selwane Game Reserve.
The Joint Venture company is 51% CPA-owned and the investor owns 49%.  The business is under Board management.

Land Size

8400 Hectares

Location

Limpopo

Investment Opportunity Assessment

Wildlife Economy

 

Core Operations

  • Ranching and related value chain
  • Hunting and hunting value chain
  • Safari and ecotourism value chain
  • Game meat value chain

 

Activities

Trophy hunting is a major business activity attracting high-end international and local hunters.
The game farm offers a wide range of wildlife species.
Game meat including processing, packaging and distribution to domestic and export markets.

 

Ecotourism

 

Core Operations‍

  • Accommodation
  • Ecotourism activities
  • Cultural and traditional activities

 

 

Activities‍

Magwena River Lodge is a luxury lodge with 16 beds, camping and catering services.

 

Investment Opportunities

 

  • Construct and develop a multi-purpose traditional conference centre and an Ecotourism activity hub with supporting facilities
  • Bush encroachment eradication
  • Expand and upgrading Magwena River Lodge to 32 beds
  • Expand wildlife ranching and hunting by increasing game stocks
  • Build Infrastructure ventures focused on fire protection, anti-poaching and invasive alien plant eradication  
  • Local training, skills development and capacity building

 

Investment Requirements

 

Investment Range Required
R20 million - R50 million

Type of Investment Required
‍Capital Expenditure
Infrastructure Funding
Working Capital

Funding Type for Financial Requirements
Equity, Debt, Grant

Non-Financial Requirements
‍Technical services
Capacity building

Value Proposition and Enablers

 

Value Proposition

  • The site enjoys Biodiversity Stewardship status
  • Community-owned land with no legal disputes     
  • The site is located close to the Kruger National Park
  • The sheer vastness of rich and secure farmland endowed with rich natural resources    
  • The Joint Venture partner is a strong investor with demonstrated capacity to inject capital
  • The Joint Venture has successfully established a high-quality accommodation facility
  • The surrounding mines are a captive market for the accommodation
  • Game meat processing potential given the growing game inventory and ongoing breeding plans
  • Growing customer base within 'package tourism' network

 

Key  Enablers

  • Building a robust website for Magwena River Lodge will strengthen its digital visibility, and enhance the site’s ability to share the powerful stories from the Selwane community, and attract business
  • Constructing a multi-purpose Traditional Conference Centre with the capacity to host public sector and private events, workshops and conferences to leverage the accommodation facilities offered by the existing lodge
  • Expand and upgrade Magwena River Lodge to 32 beds
  • Build Infrastructure to support site development objectives, including fencing, electrification, access-road upgrades, staff accommodation, solar power and water reticulation

Business Operations

Ecotourism

Wildlife Economy

Primary Customers

 

High-end international & middle range hunters & tourists for the existing Magwena River Lodge.

Active Business Entities

 

The Joint Venture partnership between the CPA and SIABIX forms Joint Venture company Selwane Nature Reserve and drives the business under the leadership of a Board. The nine-member CPA Board controls the majority of seats on the Board and the Management team.

About this Opportunity

 

Selwane Game Reserve comprises 4 100 ha of land and Magwena River Lodge are located in close proximity to the popular Kruger National Park.

Selwane is a critical Biodiversity Conservation Area with vast wildlife and a temperate savanna climate with unique bird and plant life.

The Restitution of Land Rights Act which was promulgated in 1994 activated the first land claim which was lodged by the Selwane tribe during 1996 and the farms Kondowe 36 and Waterbok were successfully transferred and are now being administered by the Selwane Communal Property Association. Kondowe is currently a game farm development and Waterbok is a community irrigation development project.

After reclaiming the land, the community decided to venture into eco-tourism and approached various stakeholders to assist as the community did not have the finances and knowledge to drive it.

The community partnered with SIABIX, a private investment company with various interests in the abattoir and meat industry to develop and operate Selwane Nature Reserve and Magwena River Lodge, based on a shareholders’ agreement in terms of which the strategic partner holds 49% and the CPA owns the balance. Three of the CPA members are directors in the operating company.

In the future Selwane aims to:

  • Add a conference centre to host corporate events.
  • Add over 2000 ha in additional farms. This additional land would be used to develop a conservancy for rhinos and other game.
  • Introduce cattle ranching as a strategic priority for the site.
  • To purchase additional game to increase the attractiveness to potential tourists. The target is to acquire: 15 Buffalo, 13 Zebra, 50 Impala, 28 Springboks and 25 Elands. Elephants will not be pursued due to a lack of land.

 

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