1. Could you start by giving us an overview of the structure and operations of the Intrasia Group?
Graeme Robertson (GR): Certainly. The ownership of the Intrasia Group is based in Singapore, but our operational headquarters is in Mauritius. The Mauritian entity serves primarily as a corporate services and financial provider.
We have Intrasia Management, a medium-sized management company that attracts around 40-50% of its business from Dubai, mostly from Indian-related interests there. We are one of the largest providers of financial licensing in Mauritius for Dubai-based companies.
On the corporate services side, we offer backroom and corporate support services, global citizenship programs (in partnership with a Dubai-registered company), and screening services for D.D. and KYC purposes.
Then there’s Intrasia Wealth, led by Neil, which is our wealth management arm. We have a close relationship with AfrAsia Bank in Mauritius. I chair the AfrAsia Foundation. AfrAsia is one of Mauritius’ most dynamic banks and is setting up an office in Dubai. We also work with MCB, Mauritius’s oldest and largest bank.
2. Could you tell us more about your wealth management approach and your presence in Dubai?
Neil Kleinsmith (NK): Of course. We see a huge opportunity in Dubai, not just among the ultra-high-net-worth individuals, who are well served by firms like Goldman Sachs, but among the professionally affluent: corporate managers, doctors and entrepreneurs.
Our model caters to this segment with a minimum investment of $50,000, not $5 million. We provide them with the same level of service typically reserved for the very wealthy.
We manage clients globally from our base in Mauritius, and we’ve established offices in Dubai and South Africa as well. Our Mauritian setup allows clients to open accounts with banks like AfrAsia Bank and Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). Mauritius is a key financial centre for Africa, so it’s an ideal hub for regional and international wealth management.
3. Beyond wealth management, what other areas does the Intrasia Group operate in?
GR: Our core business revolves around financial services and management. But we also have two secondary divisions:
First, Intrasia Properties, which develops commercial properties. We have a resort, a railway station redevelopment, and an office complex in Madagascar, as well as The Junction, a prefabricated office building under construction in Mauritius and are developing a project for serviced apartments and office complex.
Second, we’re involved in mining investments, though only in our own entities. I chair a publicly listed Australian company focused on copper and gold and another called Minbos Resources, which is developing a phosphate fertilizer project in Angola, an investment that’s both mining and processing based.
Mauritius serves as a facilitation centre for these ventures, given its strong double-taxation and investment protection treaties across Africa. This structure gives investors legal and fiscal stability, something critical when operating in volatile regions.
4. You’ve mentioned a long-standing commitment to Mauritius. Why did you choose it as your group’s base?
GR: I’ve believed in Mauritius since the 1990s. In 1995, I commissioned a study to find low-tax, business friendly jurisdictions with good reputations. The top two were Mauritius and Ireland, so naturally, I chose the warmer one!
We set up our first company there in 1997, and Mauritius has never failed us. It’s stable, pro-business, and internationally respected. It’s our gateway to Africa and the Indian Ocean.
5. Intrasia also seems active in ESG and development. Could you elaborate?
GR: ESG is integral to what we do. I chair the AfrAsia Foundation and we’re preparing to launch a program supporting female entrepreneurs in Africa. Many of these women have significant capital but lack access to convertible currency.
Our model helps convert local currency into USD through commodity trades, deposit it in a Mauritian bank in their own name and then receive an interest-free loan back in hard currency. It’s a way of empowering women financially while maintaining profitability.
6. Tell us about your latest technology initiatives.
GR: We recently co-developed a risk managed platform using AI and digital tools, called www.riskmanage.co. It provides risk certification for clients, banks, law firms, and corporates, helping them streamline their KYC and due diligence processes.
Opening a bank account anywhere today is complex due to compliance hurdles. This platform simplifies that and helps preserve Mauritius’s and Dubai’s, reputations as clean, transparent financial centres.
7. How do you view the regulatory environment and Mauritius’ potential as an investment hub?
GR: Mauritius remains the ideal platform for responsible investment into Africa. It’s politically stable, multi-currency, transparent and well-regulated with strong government oversight.
The country also has major energy potential. For example, transitioning from heavy fuel oil to LNG and developing as an LNG bunkering hub for ships crossing the Indian Ocean, could be transformative. Mauritius could emulate Singapore’s success there. Investment in medical facilities to provide services into the African continent is also an opportunity.
8. How does your team’s approach differ from traditional wealth managers?
NK: We’re different in three main ways.
First, we offer end-to-end, personalised service, each client has a dedicated advisor, not a call centre or chatbot.
Second, our fee structure via an ongoing fee basis which is transparent. We earn more when our clients earn more, so our interests are fully aligned.
Third, we focus on data-driven emotion-free investing. Many investors chase trends, gold today, crypto tomorrow. We remove that emotion, using analytical models to ensure each portfolio fits the client’s objectives.
We don’t sell our own products or platforms, and we’re transparent about all costs, platform fees, management fees, and advice fees, everything. That honesty, combined with Intrasia’s legacy and reach, gives clients real peace of mind.
9. Finally, what synergies or opportunities do you see with Gulf investors?
GR: Tremendous ones. We’re keen to form joint ventures in both wealth management and property development. We prefer collaboration over competition, having a smaller share of a bigger, stronger partnership is better than the reverse.
Dubai’s investors are increasingly looking toward Africa, and Mauritius is the perfect bridge. Through us, they can invest securely, compliantly, and profitably, backed by real structure, governance, and expertise.
NK: We essentially assist three distinct client profiles namely listed entities in high capital industries who want to facilitate activity in Africa, mid-caps and family entities as well as high net worth individuals. Our service offering is both managing invested capital and fulfilling a treasury function in hard currency, creating structures in Mauritius (Companies and Trusts) and opening hard currency bank accounts on the island for both entities and individuals, this provides gulf investors with access to a diversified blend of investments, banks, structures and jurisdiction in a unique channel which ultimately connects the Middle East, Asia and Africa and promotes flow of capital to where it is most needed with an appropriate level of return.
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