Desai Law Group

Managing Partner: Rizwan Desai

Partners: Eleng Mugabe

Number of partners: 2

Number of lawyers: 9

Languages: English, Setswana, Hindi, Kiswahili

Firm Overview:

DLG is one of the leading corporate commercial law firms in Botswana. It is recognized for being at the forefront of many significant transactions, recently negotiating the Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPP) for the largest single direct foreign mining and energy investment project by Jindal Africa in Botswana.

Led by renowned corporate lawyer, Rizwan Desai, the firm has a strong team of 9 lawyers with specialist and extensive expertise in several practice areas including corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking and finance, competition law, corporate governance and compliance, property, telecommunications, mining, energy, employment law and dispute resolution.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate & Commercial Law

Banking and Finance

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mining and Energy

Capital Markets

Employment Law & Dispute Resolution

Corporate Governance

A small selection of Indicative transactions:

DLG has acted/acts for:

• Jindal Power Limited on the bid to develop, operate, and maintain a greenfield 300 MW (net) power plant in Botswana and subsequent financial close documents.
• Bank of Botswana, Botswana Stock Exchange, Botswana Competition Authority, Botswana Development Corporation, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, Special Economic Zones Authority and various other government and regulatory entities. Bayport Management Limited in a recapitalisation transaction involving the implementation of a full corporate reorganisation.
• Botswana Oil in its proposed joint venture with Oman Trading International Trading Limited (an entity wholly controlled by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman) for purposes of undertaking supply and trading activities for oil and related commodities in Botswana and the broader Southern African markets.
• Ithuba National Lottery (the licensed operator of the South African National Lottery), regarding regulatory advice on the gaming and gambling sector in Botswana.
• Access Bank PLC in a transaction valued at approximately USD 100 million for acquiring a 78.15% equity stake in African Banking Corporation of Botswana Limited from ABC Holdings Limited.
• Proposed acquisition by Glencore of Chevron’s assets in Botswana, in connection with the downstream sale by Chevron of its Southern Africa oil assets valued at approximately US$1 billion.
• Minerals Development Company Botswana Pty (Ltd) in a financial restructuring transaction.
• Local counsel to TPG and FSI Investors in relation to the acquisition by TPG and by an affiliate of FSI Investors of the shares held in Wilderness Holdings (off market).
• Premium Nickel Resources Corporation in its acquisition of mining assets from BCL Limited and its subsidiaries.
• Anglo-American in its acquisition of the Oppenheimer family interests in De Beers
• Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited on various matters, specifically in relation to the takeover provisions in Botswana.
• Draganfly Investments Limited, an AIM-listed entity, in relation to the purchase of a controlling interest in Kalahari Metals Limited.
• ABSA Bank of Botswana on various labour law matters and compliance.

The Partners:

Rizwan Desai is widely regarded as a first-tier and one of the leading corporate and transactional lawyers in Botswana. He has been ranked as a Head of General Business Law by Chambers and Partners for 25 years consecutively. He is also the former chairman of Barclays Bank of Botswana and the Botswana Stock Exchange.

Eleng Mugabe is renowned for expertise as a corporate commercial lawyer. She is ranked by Chambers and Partners as Up and Coming in the Chambers and Partners Global Guide 2025. She is currently the only female lawyer in Botswana to have undertaken 3 PPP's.