Funding Programme
Tafadzwa Madavo
COO of Riversands Incubation Hub
Tafadzwa Madavo is the COO of Riversands Incubation Hub, an ambitious initiative that aims to boost entrepreneurial activity. At Riversands, his primary role has been to develop a growth framework and roll out support services for the 150 small businesses on the campus. An experienced project management professional, Madavo boasts broad industry experience including banking, finance, business incubation and international NGOs. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics and Community Resource Management and a Masters in Science in Strategic Management. His Masters dissertation focused on SMME value chain financing.
Andile Khumalo
Founder, I am an Entrepreneur
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Andile is the former Chief Investment Officer of MSG Afrika, a company he co-founded with Given Mkhari. MSG Afrika is a black-owned media and communications group with interests in radio (Capricorn FM, POWER FM), TV Production (Quizzical Pictures), PR and Communications (The Communications Firm), and Print (The Quarto Press), Video & Audio Post-Production (Sonovision). Passionate about entrepreneurship, he is the founder of I am an Entrepreneur.
Andrew Maren
Managing Director, CEO, Profit Share Partners
Andrew Maren is the CEO and founder of ProfitShare Partners, an innovative fintech company that is disrupting the market and enabling growth for SMEs. As a serial entrepreneur and financial professional, Andrew has a history of starting or acquiring strategic stakes in companies with interests in generating significant social impact. His experience in corporate, retail and private banking at Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank and RMB Private Bank, together with a series of business successes in the fuel, property and telecommunications industries have inspired him to create revolutionary financial solutions that would enable the market for small and medium enterprises. He was admitted as Life Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Programme, Duke University (USA) and University of Cape Town.
Abu Cassim
Director of Jozi Angels
Abu Cassim is the Founder and Director of Jozi Angels – an angel investor network. Having grown up in a family business, entrepreneurship is in his blood. In addition to Jozi Angels, he founded Ground Flr, an online platform that sources capital from developed markets and places it with emerging market start-ups. Having lived in South Africa, the UAE and Spain, Abu’s mind-set has been shaped by diverse experiences and he would like to see the South African entrepreneurship eco-system prosper.
Regina Gounden
Provincial Manager: Retail Relationship Banking, Gauteng Central, Nedbank
Regina is based in Johannesburg and her business unit services small businesses. Regina has a degree in international banking from University of Pretoria and she has successfully completed various courses in strategic leadership, marketing and finance. She is a member of the Business Women’s Association and an international business mentor and professional life coach, registered with the International Coaching Federation. She has completed her diploma with the Institute of Bankers. Besides having personal knowledge in the franchise business, she has over 20 years of experience with small-business banking, the specialised field she is qualified in. She has supported small-business owners for the past 15 years. She has gained extensive experience and knowledge in growing businesses, understanding financials and ensuring that business plans speaks to the business and the owner.
Altaaf Aboo
Associate, Edge Growth
Altaaf is an Investment Associate on the Vumela Fund who focuses on sourcing and executing investments in the dynamic scale-up businesses of the future. He has over ten years’ experience in multidisciplinary roles across the financial and energy sectors. He relishes in the opportunity to unearth innovative and visionary entrepreneurs across the emerging landscape to partner with.
Trevor Conradie
Regional Investment Director: Southern Africa, GroFin
Trevor has 28 years of SME Risk Finance experience and brings to the table his expertise in evaluating entrepreneurs and their businesses. He joined GroFin in December 2014 as Investment Executive for South Africa and has also been appointed as the Regional Investment Director for Southern Africa.
David Morobe
Regional General Manager, Business Partners
David has more than 20 years of experience in small and medium enterprise development, from various positions and different roles in his career life. In addition, Morobe has extensive training in general management, marketing, SME finance and support. His experience as a funder includes the position of executive director of the Swedish South African Business Partnership Fund where he directed and provided strategic guidance for all aspects of the R80 million fund for financing and development of local SMEs together with identified offshore partners.
Marang Marekimane
Founder Business Process Mechanics
Marang Marekimane is the founder of Business Process Mechanics, assisting entrepreneurs to review their business models and automate business processes to build sustainable businesses. After 11 years in project management, Marang believes that success relies on a person’s tolerance for change – as a result, her work is focused on providing entrepreneurs with the resources they need to adapt to change. In 2018, Marang joined Lean Business Platform South Africa as a Managing Partner. It is a tech start-up providing an innovative tool to track investments in developing small and medium sized enterprises.
Vije Vijendranath
Co-Founder and CEO, Tapsnapp
Vije Vijendranath is a seasoned entrepreneur for over 10 years who has built three companies in South Africa. He has successfully funded two companies namely, You, Baby and I, a parenting shopping company as well as Tapsnapp, an online photography booking platform. His funding has come from an institutional funding organization as well as angel investment. With a background in computer engineering, he has a deep love of technology product development. Vije also works with his wife, Shaney Vijendranath who is also an entrepreneur.
Inge Prins
CMO, Uprise.Africa
Inge launched her career in advertising and gained experience working with diverse teams across local and international brands like Sanlam, Unilever and Sun International. She believes brand communication is an integral part of business success. After completing an MBA at the Graduate School of Business – UCT in 2016 she served on the Woman and Business Committee and Tschomi Programme supporting the Raymond Ackerman Foundation. She has since broadened her interest in business development through an understanding of building strong business networks and the importance of mentorship in the South African business landscape. With a wealth of experience in the marketing space, she serves as the CMO of Uprise.Africa.
Brett Nadasen
Senior Investment Officer, FinFind
Brett Nadasen is a Senior Investment Officer at Finfind, responsible for liaison with executives of private sector financiers across South Africa who fund SMEs. He has a Bachelor of Technology Degree and is currently pursuing his Masters in Management Science. Brett is a member, and former chapter President of the Golden Key International. He is presently the Vice-Chairman of the SMME Committee of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a Steering Committee Member of Jika Mfundo, a programme under the National Education and Collaborative Trust.
Leah Bessa
Co-Founder and Head of Product Development, Gourmet Grubb
Leah completed her Masters in Food Science at Stellenbosch University, where she researched the potential of insects as a food ingredient for human consumption, and has gone onto doing her PhD with the main focus being on insects a sustainable alternative to meat. Today she is the head of R&D at Gourmet Grubb where she develops insects into a dairy alternative, starting with ice cream made from Entomilk (a milk alternative made from insects). She is here to redefine the way you think about eating insects.