SAVCA VC Conference 2024 Speakers
The 2024 lineup will feature key thought leaders in Southern Africa that will explore this year's theme.
MC: Andile Khumalo
MC: Andile Khumalo
Andile Khumalo is an entrepreneur and chartered accountant CA(SA) with over 22 years of finance and business experience. He is the founder and CEO of investment firm, KhumaloCo, which has nine investments in across the technology, media, marketing, IP, hospitality and property sectors.
Andile founded I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR, a skills development practice that helps entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses through designing and executing impactful enterprise and supplier development programmes on behalf of South African corporates. He is a Deloitte alumnus, former investment banker with Investec, and partner at MSG Afrika.
He currently serves as non-executive director of JSE-listed Metrofile Holdings and state-owned company, Airports Company South Africa. He also serves on the board of Entrepreneurs Organisation (Cape Town) and regularly writes and speaks on entrepreneurship, leadership and doing business in South Africa.
Altesh Baijoo
Flow48 SA
Altesh Baijoo
Altesh has a unique skill set that includes expertise across finance, applied futures and marketing, specifically early-stage investing, capital raising, investment management, product and business model innovation and through-the-line (TTL) marketing within tightly regulated sectors, with a distinctive focus on financial services.
He holds a Masters in Finance (INSEAD) and a Master in Futures Studies (USB), and has over 20 years of cumulative work experience gained from occupying various management roles (inc. C-Suite) at multi-national companies, high-growth FinTechs, the License Stock Exchange and the private debt marketplace.
Benjamin April
Benjamin April
Benjamin April is an Associate Director in the Financial Risk Management and Africa Financial Services Lead for Climate Change, Nature Sustainability Services and Carbon Markets. He has over 25 years of international and local working experience at FSB, SARB, ECB, UK PRA, US SEC, ISDA, BIS BCBS, ISDA, World Bank, IMF, UNDP, Stats SA, SA Biodiversity Institute and international regulators, asset managers, international and African banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds (across prudential regulations), risk management, audit, and compliance He has in-depth knowledge of regulations and compliance standards across South Africa, Africa, the UK, and the USA, and implemented Basel II/III/IV prudential regulations, risk management, and governance in African banking entities, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds.
Before joining KPMG, Benjamin was the General Manager for SARB Prudential Regulations at the Banking Association of South Africa: National Treasury Climate Task Team and Carbon Market Working Group; Presidential Climate Commission: SARB Head Investment Management, Trading and Market Operations; Chief Risk Officer roles at Tier 2 banks; Africa Treasury Risk Director for Barclays Capital; Head of Risk at the South African Reserve Bank; Head of Economic Capital Nedbank Group: Senior Audit Manager Barclays Capital and Deal Maker and Senior Risk Manager at the Industrial Development Corporation.
Daryn Munnik
Benjamin April
Daryn Munnik is based in Cape Town, South Africa and is an Investment Associate with Launch Africa’s second fund. Prior to joining Launch, he worked in various roles in corporate finance, investment management and client service at EY and Camissa Asset Management (previously Kagiso Asset Management) and Allan Gray.
Daryn is a Finance Honours graduate, has a Masters in Development Finance, and is a CFA Charterholder. In his spare time, Daryn creates random videos of walks within Cape Town and uploads it to YouTube!
Esther Ndeti
Esther Ndeti
Esther Ndeti is a Co-Managing Partner at Unconventional Capital, where she leads the firm’s investment strategy with a focus on innovative financing solutions. Over her career, Esther has been at the forefront of investment and SME sector development in the region. She is known for her commitment to entrepreneurial access and support for business leaders, actively fostering connections within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Before Unconventional Capital, Esther served as the Executive Director at the East Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EAVCA), working closely with institutional investors and regulators on strategic planning, policy formulation, market insights, and fundraising. Her role at EAVCA positioned her at the intersection of private sector finance and development, solidifying her as a thought leader in the investment space.
An entrepreneur at heart, Esther began her career after earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering and founded several businesses. She has consistently championed female entrepreneurship through initiatives like her podcast, "Preneur Today," which highlights the work of African female entrepreneurs. She was also recognized in Kenya’s Top 40 Under 40 Women in 2018. Her experience includes serving on the boards of World Bicycle Relief and HEVA Fund.
Gladwyn Leeuw
Gladwyn Leeuw
Gladwyn is the CEO of E Squared Investments since September 2023, leveraging his extensive expertise in finance and investment across several sectors. Initially joining E Squared as Chief Investment Officer, he now drives the strategic direction and portfolio growth for this South African Impact Investment Fund. Additionally, he is a Partner and member of the investment committee at Kingson Capital, a South African-based venture capital firm.
Gladwyn's career history includes senior roles at Anglo American's enterprise and supplier development arm, Zimele, as well as at 3 Capital Ventures, CCI Global, Enlabeler, and OneCart. He is also the founder of a peer-to-peer lending platform and occasionally lectures on entrepreneurship and management at the University of the Witwatersrand and Wits Business School.
He holds a Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management specialising in Business Administration from Wits Business School, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Studies and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Committed to economic development, Gladwyn actively participates in investment committees, coaching, mentorship, and supports innovative ventures across Africa.
Grace Legodi
Grace Legodi
Grace is an all-round investment professional with over 15 years’ experience working with global financial institutions and start-ups/SMEs in Southern Africa and the United States. She is the Managing Partner of Untapped Southern Africa: A South African female owned/-led emerging fund manager focused on a data-driven alternative financing model for early-stage green economy and asset-backed businesses in Southern Africa.
In partnership with Untapped Invest Inc, they use IoT to track the productivity and revenue data streams coming off of the asset in real time, to better assess the health and scalability of the business. A founder friendly model that provides investors with a transparent and commercial solution for early stage investing in Southern Africa.
Heleen Goussard
Heleen Goussard
With almost 20 years’ experience, Heleen heads up the alternative investment team at RisCura – a market leader in investment solutions in emerging markets such as Africa and China, with $200 billion in assets under management. Under her leadership, the previous core independent valuations service offering has been successfully expanded to include a wide range of alternative investment services that cover asset classes such as private equity, infrastructure and private debt. She heads up RisCura’s unlisted investment programme and is an expert on alternative investments. Her knowledge and experience are often called on by industry bodies for comment on key industry papers. In addition, her thought leadership articles are often published by well-known media outlets. She is a regular speaker at prominent industry events where she provides insight into the industry and RisCura’s research. She previously worked as a corporate finance partner at PKF Inc. Heleen has a CA(SA), is a CFA charter holder and has a master’s degree in finance, focused on valuation from UCT.
Jade Buckton
Jade Buckton
Jade has over 6 years’ experience in the venture capital and impact investing spaces across Africa. Jade is currently a Senior Investment Associate for 27four’s Venture Fund. Prior to 27four in 2019, Jade joined Goodwell Investments, a Dutch Impact Investor, as a Research Associate. In this role, she was tasked with delving into the data surround financial and digital inclusion in Africa. During her 5 years at Goodwell Investments, she transitioned into an Investment Associate and became part of the ESG & Impact team, contributing to pipeline and portfolio development and assisting the investment teams in SEMS matters across Goodwell’s portfolio investments.
Her work is supported by her background as an economist with research experience at the South African National Treasury. Additionally, her drive to bring attention to social issues and encourage change is reflected in her past and continues to extend beyond 27four’s walls, where she is a fellow of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance. Jade holds a BCom in Economics and Finance, Honours in Economics and is currently obtaining her MCom in Applied Economics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Julia Price
Julia Price
Julia is the Co-founder and Director of Linea Capital, a South African investment company focused on revenue-based finance investments that drive growth for high impact, small and growing businesses. Private equity-backed and funded by USAID, the Dutch Good Growth Fund and other local and global institutional funders, Linea uses non-dilutive funding to preserve equity in the hands of local founders.
With a background in financial services, Julia spent over 10 years in KPMG and FirstRand before studying at Stanford in the US. She consulted to Endeavor South Africa, a global non-profit organization, leading capital strategy and fundraising for Endeavor companies. Julia has advised growth stage companies on debt and equity capital raises over the last seven years.
Julia is a CA(SA), an angel investor, and recently became a member of the Harambe Alliance. She is deeply committed to deploying capital into Southern African businesses that seek to solve major global challenges.
Keet van Zyl
Keet van Zyl
Keet has over 20 years of investment experience in private equity, banking and venture capital. He co-founded Knife Capital in 2010 to scale African high-growth businesses globally and worked at industry-leading companies such as Procter & Gamble, Investec Bank and ‘Here Be Dragons’ (HBD) Venture Capital. Knife Capital's track record includes VC exits to the likes of General Electric, Visa, Garmin, Uber Eats and SoftBank. Keet is passionate about building the early-stage funding ecosystem in Africa.
Kiara Suttner
Kiara Suttner
Kiara is an astute, results-driven, big-picture thinker. Her family history of entrepreneurship has taught her to challenge the status quo and take the road less travelled. As a qualified CA and CFA with over a decade of experience in unlisted investments, Kiara brings critical thinking and financial expertise to the table. In addition to leveraging her extensive experience in financial analysis, as well as structuring and managing investments, Kiara is committed to creating sustainable, inclusive, and purposeful impact.
Lauren Tuchman
Lucky Pane
Lauren is a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Deal Advisory department. She joined KPMG in 2012, completing her training contract in the Financial Services business unit, providing external audit services to various sectors including asset managers, pension funds, collective investment schemes and property investment companies. Lauren has 10 years’ corporate finance experience, during which, she has worked on international, as well as pan-African buy-side and sell-side valuations, due diligence and M&A projects.
Lauren holds a B.Bus.Sci Finance Honours and a PGDA from the University of Cape Town. She is a CA(SA) as well as a CFA Charterholder.
Lucky Pane
Lucky Pane
Lucky Pane is the Acting Head of Research & Innovation at the Public Investment Corporation. He oversees the macro-economic, sector, and quantitative research, as well as PIC’s early-stage fund. The fund seeks to make investments in innovative and tech-driven enterprises, as well as enterprises that have high-growth potential and addresses South Africa’s socio-economic challenges.
Lucky is also responsible for the Multi-Management Private Markets division, which allocates capital to private equity firms operating in SA and the rest of the African continent. He serves as a Trustee and Investment Committee member for the Housing Impact Fund South Africa (HIFSA) and Schools and Education Investment Impact Fund South Africa (SEIIFSA), both of which are managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments. His core skills cover financial markets, asset allocation, investment strategy, sector research, macroeconomic analysis, venture capital and investments.
Lucky holds a Master of Management in Finance & Investments from Wits Business School, and MCom Financial Economics from the University of Johannesburg. He has previously worked for the National Treasury as a senior economist and Accenture South Africa as a Financial Markets Analyst.
Mike Joubert
Mike Joubert
Over a 30 year plus career, Mike has held various executive roles including CMO of Computicket, Strategic Marketing Director of Ogilvy, CMO of Diageo South Africa, CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. South Africa, Vice President of Marketing for Levi Strauss & Co. in Europe and Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa. In addition he also founded and successfully sold The BrandsRock Group to the Publicis Groupe gaining invaluable entrepreneurial experience. Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Knife Capital fold as a Venture Partner which is put to good use across the portfolio as and when needed. Mike also serves as Chairman of the Board of KNF I portfolio company Quicket.
Natalie Kolbe
Natalie Kolbe
Natalie is a Managing Partner at Norrsken22. She is responsible for the overall management of the fund, which is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Natalie brings a wealth of private equity and growth investing experience to Norrsken22, having spent 18 years at Actis – one of the leading private equity firms focused on the Emerging Markets.
At Actis, Natalie was the Global Head of Private Equity and responsible for the day-to-day management of the global PE business, spanning eight funds across Africa, Latin America, India, China and SE Asia, with circa USD $2.5 billion in assets under management. Natalie was also part of the team that assessed and onboarded the Abraaj Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia PE funds and team ($2.5bn portfolio). She is an experienced board member having held board seats on multiple companies across Africa and Europe and has been instrumental in numerous restructurings and successful exits. Natalie instilled and operated under world-class governance and ESG standards at Actis and brings this depth of knowledge with her to Norrsken22.
Natalie holds a BComm from the University of Witwatersrand, an MBA (Cum Laude) from Wits Business School and is a CFA Charterholder.
Paula Mokwena
Paula Mokwena
Paula is an engineer by training who has extensive experience in private equity, investment management and development finance. Paula’s career started in corporate and investment banking at Standard Bank, after which she went on to gain experience in stockbroking, development finance, consulting, private equity and, most recently, venture capital. Her initial involvement in the venture capital industry occurred during her tenure at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). At the IDC, she worked for a grant funding programme designed to promote technology development in South Africa called the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII). SPII provides financial assistance for the development of innovative products, processes and/or technologies, specifically focusing on the development phase, which begins at the conclusion of basic research and ends at the point when a pre-production prototype has been produced. She was also instrumental in the establishment of the Technology Venture Capital fund, which provides business support and seed capital for the commercialization of innovations and technologies funded by SPII.
She is currently the CEO of Fireball Capital, an integrated and diversified venture capital platform that makes direct investments in early-stage tech-enabled businesses and in established and emerging venture capital funds in South Africa. Paula believes that Africa is beaming with potential and that, despite the many challenges facing the continent and the as-yet unfulfilled promise of Africa rising, bold innovation and technology have the greatest potential to accelerate economic development. Her role at Fireball Capital has given her a glimpse into the incredible talent and groundbreaking innovations that exist in South Africa and other parts of the continent. As such, she hopes that Fireball Capital will become a key contributor to the venture capital ecosystem in Africa generally, and South Africa in particular, in the decades to come.
Ross Manton
Ross Manton
Ross Manton is the Managing Director and Founder of Mantoview, a placement firm focused on African funds seeking international and African capital, and global funds seeking capital from African investors. Mantoview advises on capital raisings, fund structuring, and secondaries for funds focused on private equity, venture capital, renewable energy and infrastructure, real estate, debt, and impact.
Ross is a qualified solicitor (England & Wales), holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of Sheffield, and previously worked at Clifford Chance, Webber Wentzel, Dar Capital, and the European Court of Justice.
Safeera Mayet
Safeera Mayet
Safeera is an admitted attorney and brings over two decades of providing services encompassing corporate and commercial law, financial structuring, international law, risk management, corporate finance, competition law, and company secretarial guidance. She previously held senior management roles in Tiso Group, Kagiso Tiso Holdings, Tiso Blackstar Group, Idwala Industrial Holdings and Tiso Investment Holdings. She has a track record of developing and steering legal consulting services to a diverse customer population, delivering legal and commercial guidance to manage transactions across Africa and Europe.
She has facilitated numerous M&A initiatives, redesigning internal debt and tax structures, establishing investment companies for offshore holdings, as well as negotiating and concluding new investments, disposals, and funding agreements.
She also serves as a trustee of the Tiso Foundation Charitable Trust to manage and promote programmes that support the academic and leadership development of young South Africans from underprivileged backgrounds.
She holds a BCom and LLB degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Simon Freemantle
Simon Freemantle
Having joined Standard Bank in 2008, Simon spent his first two years working from the bank’s Nairobi office as an East African Analyst. In his current role, Simon is the dedicated South Africa Political Economist within the bank’s research team, primarily serving both the local and international corporate and institutional investor communities. For the past 10 years, Simon has been ranked 1st in South Africa in the Political Analysis category of the Financial Mail’s annual Ranking the Analysts Awards. In 2024 Simon ranked first, together with fellow colleagues, in both the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) category, as well as the Innovative Research (Equities and Non-Equities) category.
Simon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law, as well as an Honours in International Studies (cum laude), and a Master’s degree in nternational Relations from the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Amsterdam.
Simon has given a course on South Africa’s political economy to an executive MBA class at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and has presented on South African and African political economy topics at Columbia Business School; Oxford University’s African Studies Centre; Chatham House (London); the Council for Foreign Relations (New York); and the New York University Stern School of Business. Simon is currently a member of Class 14 of the African Leadership Initiative (ALI) Fellowship Programme. ALI is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Thiru Pather
Thiru Pather
Thiru is an Investment Principal at the SA SME Fund, a fund set up with the broad objective of creating and developing entrepreneurs. She is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has over 18 years of Venture Capital, Private Equity and Corporate Finance experience.
Prior to joining the SA SME Fund, Thiru was a Fund Principal at the Public Investment Corporation where she was Head of the Fund of Funds division.
In addition to her executive role at the SA SME Fund, Thiru is the Chairperson of the SAVCA VC Sub-Committee and is an independent IC member of the 27four Black Business Growth Fund II.
Tishanya Naidoo
Tishanya Naidoo
Tishanya Naidoo is the Principal of the Venture Capital Division at 27four Investment Managers. She has qualifications in finance, statistics and economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and in financial technology from the University of Oxford. She is also a CFA level 3 candidate. Before starting at 27four, Tishanya worked at Laurium Capital and subsequently went on to co-found and lead the Early-Stage fund of the Public Investment Corporation. She is a member of Impact Investing South Africa, a cross-sectoral initiative aimed at building the investment ecosystem to accelerate the deployment of capital that optimises financial, social and environmental returns.
Tshepiso Kobile
Tshepiso Kobile
Tshepiso hails from a financial services background, having served as an investment professional with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and as a property finance manager with Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
Through her involvement in both the public and private sectors, she has gained unique skills in senior management roles, representing various players along the property value chain and structuring partnership agreements. Her recent position was as the Senior Programme Manager for Catalytic Projects at the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu Natal, as well as Chairperson of SAIBPP KZN. She has also served on the boards of the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners and the National Housing Finance Corporation, in addition to previous roles representing Business in the KZN and eThekwini Economic Councils. She holds a BSc (Honours) Degree in Property Studies from the University of Cape Town and a Certificate in Company Direction (IoD (UK)).
Yewande Adewusi
Yewande Adewusi
Yewande Adewusi is the Chief Operating Officer & Operating Principal at Alitheia Capital, a pioneer gender-smart and impact investing private equity firm. She spearheads the firm's operations, steering value creation initiatives and enhancing operational efficiencies across portfolio companies. She excelled at strategy, business development, and operational excellence in her previous roles as Executive Director, Commercial at Tangerine Africa and Regional Director, Sub-Saharan Africa at BBC Global News, driving growth and commercial agendas. Yewande's expertise extends to financial services, notably in fintech and digital financial inclusion, highlighted by her role as Deputy CEO of EFInA.
Beyond executive roles, she advises start-ups and serves as a Non-Executive Director at Izifin Technologies Limited. Yewande's influence extends to policy shaping, as a member of the Nigeria Startup Act implementation committee. As a Techstars Mentor, Yewande champions innovation and leadership, consistently fostering transformative change within the global business ecosystem.
Zama Khanyile
Zama Khanyile
Zama Khanyile is a Chartered Accountant with close to 20 years of experience in auditing, leveraged finance, private equity, project development, venture capital, and SME development. She is a seasoned finance and investment professional and is currently a Fund Principal in the PIC’s Early-Stage Fund, tasked with introducing and growing venture capital as a new asset class for the PIC.
Before joining the PIC, Zama was a Divisional Executive at the National Empowerment Fund, where she provided strategic leadership to the uMnotho Fund, Strategic Projects Fund, and the Women Empowerment Fund. She also chaired the NEF’s Third-Party Funds Investment Committee.She is one of the Commissioners appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Presidential Climate Commission, where she serves on the Climate Finance and Finance and Governance committees. She is a member of the BRICS Financial Services Working Group’s SME stream, and a member of the African Women Chartered Accountants’ forum Advisory Council.
Zama is a Choiseul Africa 100 laureate that identifies and ranks 100 leaders aged 40 and under who are contributing to Africa’s economic, societal, and cultural development. She is passionate about fostering inclusive growth and women empowerment and has written several thought leadership articles that have been featured on international platforms like the Financial Times and CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe.