ABOUT US
Shaping the Future of Business
We are a premier boutique advisory firm providing pragmatic, efficient, and effective solutions for family businesses, corporates, and entrepreneurs mainly within Southern Africa. Our team has multi-disciplinary expertise that includes investment advisory, corporate finance, commercial law, project management, and family office support capabilities.
What sets us apart is a combination of our diverse skillset and multi-sectoral expertise, coupled with our deep understanding of behavioral science, all of which informs our practical and holistic solution design. Our mission is to serve as a trusted bridge that facilitates the growth and sustainability of our valued clients and we are unwavering in our commitment to excellence, discretion, and integrity.
Red Couch Advisory is licensed and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZIM) as a Securities Investment Advisory Company in terms of the Securities and Exchange Act [Chapter 24:25] under registration number SECZ4579V
✽ What We Offer
Discover our
main three services
Corporate Advisory
For clients setting up new ventures, undertaking regional expansion, or restructuring existing organizations or multi-jurisdictional holdings, we craft optimized corporate structures, including facilitating cross-border structures in appropriate jurisdictions. We do not believe that ‘one size fits all’ and we therefore curate bespoke solutions for each client from the selection of the appropriate type of corporate entity, advising on appropriate incorporation jurisdictions, to unbundling, re-domiciling, and other re-organizations in order to support evolving business needs and strategies. We also assist corporates with strategy design and facilitation of strategy sessions to enhance their competitiveness, secure their sustainability, and attain their profit potential.
Family Business Advisory
At Red Couch Advisory, we believe that we are called to serve family businesses through facilitating their multi-generational growth and sustainable continuity. We understand the intricacies of family businesses and the complex relationships that exist within them with family members typically interacting in multiple capacities.
Our advisors have a track record of assisting entrepreneurs and family businesses to navigate family governance, as well as ownership and management succession through tailor-made structures and solutions for each family’s unique dynamics. We operate as a multi-family office providing comprehensive support to family owned enterprises and founders with:
- Wealth Advisory and Investment Strategy Coordination
- Wealth Transfer & Legacy Planning including bespoke trusts and offshore structures
- Corporate Affairs Support
- Succession & Continuity Planning
- Family Governance & Family Council Support
- Mediation & Conflict Resolution
- Professional Trustee Services
- Estate Administration Support
- Commercial Transactions Advisory
- Regulatory & Compliance Advisory
Exclusive Insights
We have a hands-on approach in guiding clients from in-depth due diligence investigations, transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of transaction documentation, and assisting with applications for requisite approvals and consents. We design efficient transaction structures that mitigate risks whilst attaining desired outcomes for our clients.
We partner with transacting parties to understand their objectives and unique circumstances and then draw on our multi-disciplinary expertise and experience in commercial law, business management, and strategy formulation to deliver bespoke deal structures for various types of commercial transactions such as, but not limited to:
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Disposals
- Private Equity and Venture Capital transactions
- Joint Ventures
- Inward and Outbound Foreign Direct Investment
- Project Finance
- Real Estate Developments, and private equity deals
Sharon Bwanya, Founder & MD
The team of advisors at Red Couch Advisory is led by Sharon Bwanya. Sharon is a multi-skilled business advisor who possesses commercial law, business administration, corporate finance, and executive coaching qualifications and expertise which she has amassed whilst working in different capacities over a period of nearly twenty years. Prior to founding Red Couch Advisory, she served as the Group General Counsel of the Masawara Group, an investment holding conglomerate headquartered in the UK with operating entities in the financial services, hospitality, telecommunications, real estate, health, energy, and agribusiness sectors across ten African countries.
Before joining Masawara, she served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Nurture Group, a pan-African investment management and corporate advisory firm and in the early years of her career, Sharon worked in regional and international commercial law firms such as Mayer Brown in London and MawereSibanda in Zimbabwe and Botswana. As a commercial lawyer, Sharon’s practice had a specialist practice focus on foreign direct investment, mergers & acquisitions, and project finance for large scale high impact infrastructure projects in transport, energy, and tourism.
She has a global outlook having studied and worked in different countries that include South Africa, United Kingdom, the United States, Botswana, and Germany. Sharon also serves on boards of directors across the corporate and not-for-profit sectors within Southern Africa. She can be contacted directly at sb@rca.co.zw
Pragmatic, Efficient, and Effective
Discover Zimbabwe Family Business Summit
The Zimbabwe Family Business Summit (ZFBS) is a premier annual conference designed specifically for family-owned businesses in Zimbabwe. Its primary goal is to empower these enterprises to achieve sustainable growth, ensure continuity across generations, and protect their legacy and wealth.
