Frequently Asked
Questions

We are a US-domiciled LLC with primary operations in Nairobi, Kenya. We serve clients and partners across East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia), the UK, and the United States, with growing coverage across West and Southern Africa.

No. Basquiat Capital is a business development consulting firm. We are not a bank, broker-dealer, or fund manager. We facilitate capital connections, provide market intelligence, and optimize financial flows - we do not hold or manage client funds directly.

No. We do not hold, custody, or manage client funds at any point. For Commercial FX, we connect clients directly with FCA-regulated providers. For the Institutional Hedge Fund, assets are held in custody by an independent institutional broker - not by Basquiat Capital.

Our FX providers are FCA-regulated (Financial Conduct Authority, UK). Our hedge fund mandate operates through an SEC-compliant institutional brokerage structure. All engagements are governed by formal written agreements.

Our typical FX clients are multinationals, NGOs, and exporters moving more than $10,000 per month across borders - particularly between African markets and USD, GBP, or EUR. If your organization is currently converting currency through a commercial bank, you are almost certainly overpaying.

Most organizations converting currency through banks are paying 3-5% spreads per transaction. Our FCA-regulated FX partners typically deliver spreads of 0.5-1.5%, depending on volume and currency pairs. For organizations moving significant volumes, the annual savings can be material - often six figures.

We support all major currency pairs involving USD, GBP, EUR, and a wide range of African currencies including KES, UGX, TZS, RWF, NGN, GHS, and ZAR. Coverage depends on the specific FX provider matched to your flow profile.

We start with a free analysis of your current cross-border payment flows - currencies, volumes, frequency, and current provider costs. From that data, we model your potential savings and introduce you to the most appropriate FCA-regulated FX provider for your profile. The entire process typically takes 5-10 business days from initial engagement.

We work with high-growth companies across Sub-Saharan Africa that are seeking Series A+ equity or structured debt financing from global institutional investors. Our ideal client has audited financials, a proven management team, and is operating at meaningful scale - typically $1M+ in annual revenue.

We conduct independent research on your company - financials, management, market position, competitive landscape, and growth trajectory. We produce a structured investment profile and facilitate warm introductions to institutional capital partners in our network. We also support the due diligence process and investor communications.

No. We do not guarantee outcomes. What we guarantee is rigorous preparation and access to the right institutional relationships. Capital allocation decisions are made by investors, not advisors. Our role is to ensure your company is positioned and presented to the highest standard possible.

Our fee structure is engagement-dependent and disclosed fully at the outset. We typically combine a modest retainer to cover research and preparation costs with a success fee tied to closed transactions. All terms are documented in a formal engagement letter before work begins.

The minimum mandate is $1,000,000 USD. This reflects the institutional nature of the product - it is structured as a Discretionary Separately Managed Account (SMA), not a retail fund. We work with corporate treasuries, family offices, and investment funds.

Capital is held in custody by an independent institutional brokerage platform - not by Basquiat Capital. You retain legal ownership of your assets at all times. We operate with full discretionary authority within the parameters of your Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which includes custom drawdown limits and sector exposure caps tailored to your risk tolerance.

Our fee structure is 2% annual management fee and 20% performance fee, with a High Water Mark applied. The High Water Mark means we only earn a performance fee on net new gains - if the portfolio declines, we must recover those losses before earning performance fees again.

Our strategy targets outsized returns relative to the S&P 500 benchmark (approximately 10% average annual return). We deploy capital across US and International Small, Mid, and Large Cap equities with an alpha-focused methodology. Specific historical performance figures are available to qualified prospective investors upon formal engagement.