Hlumelo Biko (born 19 January 1978) is a South African businessman and

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

. He is the son of

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

and

Mamphela Ramphele Mamphela Aletta Ramphele (; born 28 December 1947) is a South African politician, an activist against apartheid, a medical doctor, an academic and businesswoman. She was a partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, with whom she had two chil ...

Early life

His mother Ramphele was five months pregnant with him when she learned that Steve Biko, with whom she was having an affair, had been killed in police custody. She named him ''Hlumelo'' because it means "the shoot of a tree" in the

Xhosa language Xhosa (, ) also isiXhosa as an endonym, is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people and by another 11 million as a second ...

. Biko holds a B.A. in History and Politics from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, and a Masters of Science in International Business Government Relationships from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Career

Biko worked for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1998 . Biko and Ramphele co-founded Circle Capital, an investment company, in 2005.Bridge, Sherilee. Trailblazers: South Africa's champions of change. Cape Town: Double Storey, 2007. Biko was the CEO of Circle Capital. In 2008, ''Bespoke Magazine'' called him "the driving force behind a multi-million

rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

black empowerment company... one of South Africa's most intriguing empowerment vehicles."Willis, Mike
"Bespoke People: Man of Change"
, Bespoke, Beirut, July 2008. in a failed business venture where Biko was the Chairperson and a colleague and friend Clive Rugara, Circle line food group faced lawsuits from suppliers and former employees for non payment . Financial challenges and “poor trading conditions ” forced Circle Food Group to close their doors.

Philanthropy

In parallel with a successful 13-year career as a

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

, he is also a dedicated

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, currently serving as vice-chairman of the

Baxter Theatre The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape ...

, supporting budding small and medium enterprises as a board member of Endeavor offering mentorship and advice to a number of high impact South African entrepreneurs, and supporting increased access to education through institutions like Kommunity Group Projects, the

and African Schools for Excellence.

Private life

In early January 2018, he was arrested on charges of assault related to domestic violence of his wife. The charges were later dropped and the couple divorced.

References

External links

A Conversation with Hlumelo Biko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biko, Hlumelo 1978 births Living people University of Cape Town alumni People from Qonce Georgetown University alumni South African businesspeople South African investment bankers Biko family