Hlumelo Biko


Hlumelo Biko is a South African businessman and investment banker. He is the son of Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele.

Early life

His mother Ramphele was five months pregnant with him when she learned that Steve Biko, with whom she was having an affair, had been killed in police custody. She named him Hlumelo because it means "the shoot of a tree" in the Xhosa language.
Biko holds a B.A. in History and Politics from the University of Cape Town, and a Masters of Science in International Business Government Relationships from Georgetown University.

Career

Biko worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C. in 1998.
Biko and Ramphele co-founded Circle Capital, an investment company, in 2005. Biko was the CEO of Circle Capital. In 2008, Bespoke Magazine called him "the driving force behind a multi-million rand black empowerment company... one of South Africa's most intriguing empowerment vehicles." As a businessman, Hlumelo has a reputation of not paying his employees or suppliers in a timely manner. His company, Circle Food Group faced lawsuits from suppliers and former employees for unethical business behavior. Former employees and service providers of Hlumelo Biko's companies have accused him of failing to honour salary and services payments for months since 2016. Financial challenges by Circle Food Group were the result of “poor leadership”, and Hlumelo and Clive Rugara failed to manage their businesses correctly and lacked basic ethics.

Philanthropy

In parallel with a successful 13-year career as a venture capitalist, he is also a dedicated philanthropist, currently serving as vice-chairman of the Baxter Theatre, supporting budding small and medium enterprises as a board member of Endeavor offering mentorship and advice to a number of high impact South African entrepreneurs, and supporting increased access to education through institutions like Kommunity Group Projects, the University of Cape Town and African Schools for Excellence.

Private life

In early January 2018, he was arrested on charges of assault related to domestic violence of his wife.