Hlumelo Biko

Who is Hlumelo Biko?

Hlumelo Biko is a South African businessman and investment banker. He is the son of Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele. Ramphele was five months pregnant with him when she learned that Steve Biko, who she was having an affair with, had been killed in police custody. She named him Hlumelo because it means "the shoot of a tree".

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. He worked for the World Bank in Washington, DC 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."

Hlumelo Biko is an Executive Chairman of a growth capital oriented investment firm called Spinnaker Growth Partners. Prior to this Hlumelo ran a successful venture capital company called Circle Capital Ventures, which invested R100m over 8 years in 8 deals, generating a return of R1.6 billion of both realised and unrealised gains net of costs.