The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) hosted its virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 6 October and welcomed two new directors to its board: Thiru Pather and Vuyo Ntoi.

SAVCA CEO, Tanya van Lill commented, “it’s a privilege to welcome two such highly esteemed industry professionals to our board. They each bring with them a diverse skill set with valuable expertise in venture capital and private equity that will help steer and drive SAVCA’s strategic objectives to support the growth of the industry.

Thiru Pather is a Principal at the SA SME Fund, a fund set up with the broad objective of creating and growing black entrepreneurs. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Pather has almost two decades of experience working and thriving within the venture capital, private equity and corporate finance.

Vuyo Ntoi is the Co-Managing Director of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a position he has held since August 2020. Before joining AIIM, Ntoi was the Co-Portfolio Manager of the R15-billion IDEAS Managed Fund, which primarily focuses on infrastructure investment and development assets in the SADC region. He holds several directorships, including positions on a number of AIIM’s portfolio companies’ boards. He is also a Trustee of the Africa Infrastructure Developers Association (AFiDA).

“Thiru and Vuyo  were elected by their peers who are confident in their unique abilities to fulfil SAVCA’s strategic objectives as we enter an era focused on recovery and rebuilding. With these appointments, we continue to reaffirm our commitment to the transformation of the industry, with the new board composition being majority women – and majority black. This composition is reflective of the significant strides being made towards the transformation of the broader industry.

The 2021 SAVCA Private Equity Industry Survey painted a picture of a “turbulent but encouraging” year for the sector, having emerged from 2020 with prospects of an upturn evident given strong levels of confidence from South African investors.  

A key finding is that 72.5% of funds came from inside South Africa, with the majority coming from pension and endowment funds (largely mandated for South African investments), which is a positive indicator of confidence in the private equity industry.

A snapshot of the 2021 SAVCA Venture Capital Industry Survey revealed that the sector surged forward despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another record year was concluded, with early-stage fund managers investing R1.39bn into 122 entities through 167 investment rounds.

These results come despite reporting that 3 out of the top 5 established fund managers prioritised supporting existing portfolios as opposed to making new investments, given the turbulent economic climate. 2020 was also a record year for exits, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 by 13.2%, with the vast majority of exits being profitable.

 “The state of the venture capital and private equity industries is a microcosm of the broader South African economic climate. If we look at the trends revealed by our 2021 surveys, we can confidently say that economic recovery from the long-term effects of COVID-19 may be slow, but it is inevitable. If we continue to surge forwards, the consistent growth of both emerging and established commercial ventures will continue to be a major driving force behind that recovery,” commented van Lill.

Also on this year’s AGM agenda was the announcement of two outgoing board members. Sthembile Nkabinde, Founder and Chief Executive officer of Khulasande Capital and Paul Boynton, CEO of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, who was a director on the SAVCA board since 2016.

“At SAVCA, we were fortunate to have had Paul and Sthembile’s valuable contribution and presence on the board. They each brought a high level of experience and dedication to the board, which not only supported SAVCA’s endeavours, but ultimately benefited the broader industry,” van Lill concludes.