SAVCA welcomes five new board members at 2023 AGM
Five new board members were welcomed to the board of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) at its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 3 October 2023. Darshan Daya, Edmund Higenbottam, Liz Kolobe, Ria Papier and Nicola Gubb have now officially commenced their tenure as board members.
Providing his insight on these new appointments, SAVCA Chairperson and Executive Director of Ata Capital, Lelo Rantloane commented: “Our five new board members were voted in by our members based on their unique individual and collective skillsets, and industry experience gained over a number of years. They join the board at a crucial time, when there is great expectation around the role private markets can play in our economy. Together they will contribute towards the already diverse board, and provide strategic oversight to the SAVCA team as they translate the Association’s vision into critical activities to drive the growth of PE and VC in the region. We wish to extend a warm welcome, and look forward to collaborating with them as we work to expand the reach and impact of the private equity and venture capital industry.”
Darshan brings more than two decades of private equity industry experience across many economic cycles to bear, having worked in large cap buyout funds prior to co-founding Capitalworks in 2006. Through directly sourcing and executing multiple transactions as well as numerous engagements with both the local and international institutional investor community, Darshan has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities available to the venture and private equity industry in South Africa, which experience can be leveraged for the benefit of the greater industry through his participation on SAVCA board.
Edmund is a veteran investment banker and private capital fund manager, with extensive experience across London, Johannesburg, Lagos and Dubai. Edmund’s banking career started in 2001, having worked at global investment banks and, from 2008 has worked in the Africa market. He designed the strategy for, raised and is responsible for the deployment of Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund, a USD 100 million fund investing in digitally enabled MSE-lenders and other inclusive financial institutions on a pan-African basis. He will share his unique experience coupled with his entrepreneurial mindset as well as an investor mindset as he is a founder of Verdant Capital.
Liz has over 13 years’ experience in private equity, advising and executing transactions. She is a principal at Agile Capital, representing the firm on various boards across various sectors including water, mining services, media, financial services, environmental management, medical, property, soft services and energy. Liz has worked in both traditional private equity funds funded by pension funds, as well as the captive fund space, which will add invaluable insights to the team. She is passionate about transformation and would like to make a personal and professional contribution to meaningful transformation of the industry.
Ria is the Client Director at Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), responsible for leading fund raising and investor relations functions. Prior to this, Ria was in the Client Solutions team at Standard Bank Investment Banking. Her investment banking career spans 19 years, where she has worked across diverse sectors, including Industrial and Consumer, in the origination and execution of equity and debt transactions, mergers and acquisitions and IPOs. Armed with a very good understanding of investors’ views, Ria is passionate about educating the broader financial services industry on this valuable asset class that not only has the ability to generate solid returns but also the impact to improve the lives of many South Africans.
Nicola has over 25 years of investment and corporate finance experience with a particular niche in BBBEE and gender lens investing coupled with 17 years of board experience in Financial Services, Media, Wholesale Fuel Supply and Private Education. In her previous role as CIO of WDB Investment Holdings, Nicola was responsible for investee strategic value-add and post deal maintenance of a portfolio with a NAV of ZAR 5 billion, where she built and managed a team of (all women) investment professionals. She is passionate about the Private Equity sector and its transformative potential and would like to add value at a strategic level on the SAVCA board.
The Chairperson acknowledged outgoing board members, Richard Rose, Yvonne Maitin, Rory Ord, Andrea Bohmert and Thiru Pather, to whom a heartfelt thanks was extended for their exemplary service and ongoing commitment. This being his last year as the Chairperson of SAVCA, Lelo thanked the members and fellow board members, for the support they have provided, as the Association underwent a number of significant changes, and entrusting him with the position for the last three years.
Rantloane said: “Richard, Yvonne, Rory, Andrea and Thiru brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the SAVCA board, inspiring a high level of commitment to the Association and supporting the executive team to lay the important groundwork that will enable us to fulfil our shared vision for the industry. The impact of their contributions is highly appreciated and has become a key part of our development as the industry’s association and has enabled us to position both venture capital and private equity as key opportunities for investors.”
“We’d also like to formally welcome Tshepiso, whom, having joined SAVCA in November 2022 as CEO, now has her feet firmly planted in the organisation, as well as Mandlakazi, who joined SAVCA this month as the Executive responsible for Operations.” Gratitude was extended to Shelley Lotz and Manusha Parshotum (Former Operations Executive) for their immense commitment to the organisation in the last finance year, which contributed greatly to its sound status.
About SAVCA
The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) is the industry body and public policy advocate for private equity and venture capital in Southern Africa. SAVCA represents more than R214 billion in assets under management through circa 204 members that form part of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem. SAVCA promotes the Southern Africa venture capital and private equity asset classes on a range of matters affecting the industry, providing relevant and insightful research, offering training on private equity and creating meaningful networking opportunities for industry players.