About Michael J. Prest
Education
Michael attended University College School, London & Downside Abbey School, in Somerset, England. He holds an LLB and is a qualified Barrister. He is a global citizen who believes in a borderless world of ideas, the power of technology to disrupt and transform the world positively and the enduring spirit of mankind to support an interconnected world of the human spirit.
Career
Mr Michael J. Prest is a seasoned strategic investor with a strong track record in soft commodities and global oil trading and growing successful businesses across a range of industries and sectors in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Europe. He is most often described as the consummate negotiator with an innate ability to ‘read the room’.
Currently, Mr Prest is overseeing the development of BONI (Bank of New Innovation Limited) based on the island of Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. Given the ever changing landscape of banking and its marriage with technology, BONI is positioning itself to be both a regional and cross continental beneficiary of the same. Using technology to meet global required benchmarks of KYC and by so doing, allowing for real time transparent cross border banking and investor engagement to a wider global footprint.
Mr Prest, was also a first mover and maintains group interests in East Africa oil & gas exploration rights and which, given the energy transition window, are being developed to better serve the needs of regional and international consumers.
Mr Prest identifies opportunities and invests in businesses that have the potential for growth, disrupting sectors and challenging the established players. Throughout his career, he has specialised in natural resources, health & leisure assets, financial services and property, creating in the latter a property portfolio yielding more than 150% returns over a ten-year period.
He is currently looking, amongst others, at opportunities to roll out scalable solar energy initiatives in East Africa in the first instance and then the wider Africa; investing in better natural resource outcomes in the mining and minerals sector in Africa and is an early stage investor in an interactive sports platform that seeks to monetise fan engagement for a better interactive experience in both gaming and entertainment products. This as a means of raising the engagement bar between, sports, entertainment and fan engagement responsibly.
Community & Charitable work
Furthermore, through his investments, Mr Prest has always focussed on giving opportunity. In his executive roles across soft commodities and oil he made a deliberate point of always giving opportunities to hard working young people, and ensured senior positions in his businesses, often in male-dominated sectors, are representative.
Currently, at BONI women occupy a majority of the senior leadership and managerial positions. Mr Prest also co–founded the UK Powerlist, an initiative that showcases the 100 most influential people of African or African-Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. He has championed the educational needs of inner – city children in London and serves as a mentor to young people under the UK, Urban Synergy programme.
Mr Prest serves as a trustee to the Amos Bursary which was founded to help talented people of African and Caribbean descent have the opportunity to excel in education. Madiba, Nelson Mandela, described Mr Prest’s efforts as those made by someone who never forgot the importance of helping others.