The photograph captured a defining moment: the first official image of LRE Invest Africa. It was taken on 17 November 2025, during the meeting that effectively launched the company, bringing together founders Leon Guimarães, Camila Fontana and J. Ruben Marone alongside a visiting ambassador and his advisors, George Tebagana and Benon Kayemba, based in Washington and travelling through the region around COP30. What began as an introduction quickly became the founding conversation of LRE.
The encounter was made possible by Ruben Marone’s diplomatic network. As Honorary Consul of Botswana, his contacts opened the door to the ambassador’s delegation and set the stage for the partnership. Until then, the group’s investment activity ran through LECA, led by Leon Guimarães and Camila Fontana, and from this meeting LRE was formed, uniting LECA’s established capital base with a dedicated vehicle focused on Uganda and East Africa.
More than a formality, the 17 November meeting confirmed the international interest and institutional relationships that would underpin LRE’s strategy: connecting global partners to Africa’s next growth cycle, with Uganda as the gateway. It is the moment the company points to as its true starting point.