DELVE INTO AFRICAN WEALTH
DON'T MISS A BEAT
Subscribe now
Skip to content

Ramachandran Ottapathu’s stake in Choppies, Far Property, Afinitas now worth $40.93 million

Ottapathu has played a key role in the growth and development of Botswana’s real estate sector.

Ramachandran Ottapathu’s stake in Choppies, Far Property, Afinitas now worth $40.93 million

Table of Contents

Botswana multimillionaire Ramachandran Ottapathu’s stake in Choppies Enterprises Limited, Far Property Company and Afinitas Limited is now worth BWP447.03 million ($40.93 million).

Ottapathu, who founded Far Property, a real estate development and asset management company located in Botswana, has played a key role in the growth and development of the country’s real estate sector.

He also played a formative role in the modernization of Botswana’s highly fragmented retail sector. This led to the establishment of Choppies Enterprises, a leading retail company that he co-founded with fellow Botswana multimillionaire, Farouk Ismail.

Since its founding in 1986 by Ottapathu and Ismail, Choppies has grown into the largest retailer in Botswana and one of the largest in Southern Africa.

Despite competition from industry leaders such as Shoprite and Spar, the company owns a centralized distribution network in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya.

As of press time, 12:20 PM, Aug. 6, Choppies’ market capitalization was BWP782.18 million ($71.61 million). The market value of Ottapathu’s stake was BWP152.88 million ($13.92 million).

Aside from his stake in Choppies and Far Property, the multimillionaire is one of the largest shareholders in Afinitas, a pan-African investment holding focused on developing a portfolio of Africa-focused businesses.

Ottapathu’s stake in the investment holding is now worth BWP160,000 ($14,571), while his 119,998,333 ordinary shares in Far Property are worth BWP294.00 million ($26.77 million) as of press time, 12:20 PM (UTC), Aug. 6.

The total market value of his stake in the three companies, according to data compiled by Billionaires.Africa, is BWP447.03 million ($40.93 million).

The intelligence satisfies curiosity. The paid briefings satisfy strategy.

Every Monday, Elite subscribers receive an Investor Memo breaking down the deal, the structure and the positioning behind the week's most consequential African wealth story - the kind of analysis that doesn't appear anywhere else.

Twice a month, a Wealth Intelligence brief profiles a single billionaire's holdings, cash flows and expansion pipeline in detail no public source matches.

Executive ($25/mo): Daily newsletter + Deep-Dive Reports

Elite ($75/mo): Everything above + Investor Memos + Wealth Intelligence + Quarterly Analyst Briefings

Subscribe now

Latest

African Wealth Briefing — Fri., Sept. 4, 2026

African Wealth Briefing — Fri., Sept. 4, 2026

Nigeria rejoins FTSE's frontier index on September 21, handing ten of its giants — Dangote Cement, First HoldCo, MTN — a wave of global passive capital, while BUA, UBA and Seplat are left out. And Aliko Dangote said his refinery's $5 billion IPO, set to be Africa's largest, opens within twelve days.

Members Public
The Inside Story: The Rule-Maker — How Jean Kacou Diagou Co-Wrote Africa's Insurance Rulebook, Then Built NSIA Into a 12-Country Empire in the Market He Regulated

The Inside Story: The Rule-Maker — How Jean Kacou Diagou Co-Wrote Africa's Insurance Rulebook, Then Built NSIA Into a 12-Country Empire in the Market He Regulated

Jean Kacou Diagou helped write the insurance rulebook for 14 African countries — then quit to compete in the market he'd regulated. From a €457,000 start in 1995 he built NSIA into a 12-country bank-insurance group. This week he pruned it, exiting Nigerian life insurance.

Members Public