EMVest Asset Management is a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm based in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, with an additional office in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom.

Overview

EMVest Asset Management was founded in 2011. It is a joint venture between Emergent Asset Management and Grainvest, a subsidiary of the RussellStone Group. The firm invests in landholdings in South Africa,

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, Eswatini,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. In June 2011, the

Oakland Institute The Oakland Institute is a progressive think tank founded in 2004 by Anuradha Mittal. It is headquartered in Oakland, California. Mission and areas of focus Since 2011, the Institute has investigated land investment deals in developing countr ...

revealed that

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, and other American colleges and universities had invested heavily in African landholding via this firm.John Vidal, Claire Provost
US universities in Africa 'land grab'
''The Guardian'', June 8, 2011 They were accused of "

landgrabbing Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and Multinational corporation, transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughou ...

." By 2013, Vanderbilt University, a university based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

where students had led protests in the wake of the revelation, removed its US$26 million investment from EMVest.Vanderbilt University Divests from "Land Grab" in Africa
Oakland Institute, February 13, 2013

References

Private equity companies of South Africa Financial services companies established in 2011 Companies based in the City of Tshwane Organisations based in Pretoria {{SouthAfrica-company-stub