Founder and Director of private equity firm Dequity Capital Management, Kadeen Mairs, says his goal is to help at least 20 companies list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange over the next 10 years.

He shared the ambitious goals recently on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds.

Mairs, who recently resigned from his position as CEO of microcredit institution Dolla Financial Services, says the team at Dequity aims to list at least two companies every year, beginning in 2024.

The move comes as the businessman is shifting focus from running Dolla to helping other entrepreneurs achieve the same success that he did.

Dolla Financial listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange last year and broke records with its initial public offer. The IPO was 10 times oversubscribed, receiving over $5 billion in subscriptions on a $500 million offer.

Since then the company has more than doubled its loan book from $1 billion in June 2022 to over $2.5 billion in June 2023. 

According to Dolla’s six-month results profits have almost doubled to $227 million.

“I want to continue to inspire entrepreneurs and build more entrepreneurs. I don’t want to be the only successful entrepreneur that drives a nice car and can take care of his family and buy his mother a house,” he shared. 

“I want to know that I also give other entrepreneurs you know that support to do the same as well. So, that’s where my passion is,” he added.

Mairs, who has over 15 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, said he plans to take a hands-on approach with the Dequtiy’s portfolio companies, providing capital, expertise and personalised guidance. 

“We plan to invest and grow with these companies for the long term and we’re not looking to flip companies no matter how great the opportunity for real returns,” he explained.

“We won’t invest in a company if we don’t believe in the long-term future of the company,” he added.

Currently, Dequity has eight portfolio companies across six industries. 

They include; Dolla Financial, M24 Investments, Real Estate Acquisitions Limited, Johnston Development Group, Royale Medical, Elite Conceptz and Solutions, Mairco Computer Technologies and iCreate. 

“What we want to do is to grow companies to a level to sustainably pay dividends and to sustainably grow the stock price,” Mairs said.

The Director said that his timeline for achieving these goals begins in 2024. He said there is still a lot of groundwork being done with the Dequity team.

“I want to promise that for every year, I will be growing with an entrepreneur listing their company on the stock exchange making them experience what I did the day of Dolla’s listing ceremony,” he said.