One of Botswana’s richest men, Ramachandran Ottapathu, loses $2.3 million

Ramachandran Ottapathu, one of Botswana’s richest businessmen and co-founder of retail giant Choppies Enterprises Limited, has experienced a substantial financial loss amounting to millions of dollars from his stake in renowned retail conglomerate Choppies Enterprises Limited.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Ottapathu’s stake in Choppies has declined by BWP31.64 million ($2.3 million) since May 12 driven by the sustained slump in the company’s share price on the Botswana Stock Exchange.

Choppies Enterprises is Botswana’s largest supermarket chain and one of the biggest retailers in Africa. The group owns a centralized distribution network in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Kenya and sells leading international food brands and its private-label products.

Choppies has grown from a single store operating under the name “Wayside Supermarket” in Botswana in 1986 into a leading retailer with more than 260 stores in eight countries.

As the co-founder of Choppies, Ottapathu owns a controlling 24.48-percent stake in the supermarket chain, totaling 316,353,058 ordinary shares. However, the recent sell-down in the shares of his company has led to a decline in the market value of his stake.

Since May 12, Choppies shares on the Botswana Stock Exchange have declined significantly by 14.93 percent, falling from BWP0.67 ($0.049) on May 12 to BWP0.57 ($0.042) at the time of writing, thus leading to substantial financial losses for shareholders, including Ottapathu, who owns a significant stake in the group.

As a result of the significant double-digit decline in Choppies’ share prices over the past 138 days, the market value of Ottapathu’s stake has declined by BWP31.64 million ($2.3 million), falling from BWP211.96 million ($15.41 million) on May 12 to BWP180.32 million ($13.11 million) at the time of writing.