New leadership takes the helm at Savca

Source: Ria Papier and the esteemed individuals - Darshan Daya, Edmund Higenbottam, Liz Kolobe, and Nicola Gubb - have officially embarked on their new roles as board members of Savca.

The esteemed individuals - Darshan Daya, Edmund Higenbottam, Liz Kolobe, Ria Papier, and Nicola Gubb - have officially embarked on their roles 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 skill sets, 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 private equity and venture capital 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.”

• Daya 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, Daya has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities available to the venture- and private-equity industry in South Africa, his experience of which can be leveraged for the benefit of the greater industry through his participation on the Savca board.

We couldn't have said it better. "The mandate for institutional investors necessitates strategic proficiency at striking a balance between internal rate of return & ESG aspects like BBBEE, transformation & the just energy transition.” https://t.co/ubate9Oabm#INVESTINGFORGROWTH pic.twitter.com/mGh0KchL0q

— SAVCA (@SAVCAssociation) August 10, 2023

• Higenbottam is a veteran investment banker and private capital fund manager, with extensive experience across London, Johannesburg, Lagos and Dubai. His 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 $100m 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.

• Kolobe has more than 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.

  Kolobe 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.



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• Papier is the client director at Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), responsible for leading fundraising and investor relations functions. Prior to this, Papier 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 initial public offerings (IPOs).

  Armed with a very good understanding of investors’ views, Papier 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 drive impact to improve the lives of many South Africans.

• Gubb 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 chief investment officer (CIO) of WDB Investment Holdings, Gubb was responsible for investee strategic value-add and post deal maintenance of a portfolio with a net asset value (Nav) of R5bn, 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.

Gratitude and farewell

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, Rantloane thanked the members and fellow board members, for the support they have provided, as the association underwent a number of significant changes, and for entrusting him with the position for the last three years.

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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 chief executive officer, 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 former operations executive, Manusha Parshotum, for their immense commitment to the organisation in the last financial year, which contributed greatly to its sound status.