Our Team

Chief Executive Officer

Audrey Verhaeghe

30 years experience
An active Angel investor in South Africa. Leveraging three decades of global expertise in science, technology and innovation, Audrey has provided innovative consulting services to the public and private sectors. She has directed the design and implementation of ground-breaking programs and developed strategic policies and frameworks to ensure that start-up entrepreneurs move forward. She embarked on a 10-year journey to establish the SA Innovation Summit which is now recognised as the largest start-up event in Africa, integrating business, academia and government. She enjoys identifying, investing in and growing business opportunities.

Chief Operating Officer

Saskia Nysschens

Saskia is a systems thinker with over 15 years of experience across a range of industries, focusing on operations, implementing & streamlining processes and identifying inefficiencies. A successful professional with a wealth of transferable skills gained in business. Possesses a commitment to delivering operational excellence and a reputation for ensuring complete customer satisfaction. Able to reduce costs by implementing processes that are more efficient. 

Obtained two bachelor degrees – BCompt Accounting & BCom Corporate Communication (Cum Laude)
Demonstrated history of working in the medical device industry, skilled in eHealth and online and remote support, device manufacturing and distribution with a focus on operations, business development, marketing, finance, customer relations and engagement and communications.

Head of Investment

Van-Lee Gunyere

Van-Lee has over 15 years’ experience in private equity, corporate finance, M&As, business turnaround and restructuring in Spain, South Africa, and rest of the SADC region. He worked as an Investment Officer at ASOCapital and Sovereignty Capital leading fundraising, deal sourcing, investments analysis, due diligence, portfolio companies monitoring, and exits for deals ranging between R50million and R1billion. He successfully worked on over 15 deals and exited 3 investments achieving the funds’ target return of 2x – 4x ROI, he also led M&As for mining and general industrial companies valued over Rand 2 billlion and advised executives and board of directors for a property fund with over Rand 3billion assets. He holds an International MBA from IE Business School, and Bachelor of Commerce honours in Finance from National University of Science and Technology.

Analyst

Diana Silali

Diana is a dedicated and results-driven Analyst with experience in corporate finance. Proven expertise in financial modelling, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic financial planning. Prior to joining Anza Capital, Diana worked as a Corporate Finance Associate at Noblestride Capital responsible for deal sourcing, deal structuring, investments analysis, and due diligence. She holds a BSc in Actuarial Science from The University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing CFA.

Consultant

Benjamin Shaw

Seasoned executive and investment professional with extensive entrepreneurial and advisory experience, Ben has been a start-up founder, investment banker and PE professional for close to a decade and is a Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellow.

Ben’s expertise spans a range of domains, sectors, and stages of business. He is a transactor at EXEO Capital and holds leadership roles in Balihle Capital and XVF. In addition to other entrepreneurial ventures, Ben assisted in establishing a start-up accelerator, co-founded a private investment holdings partnership and now co-hosts the show Shapers, Makers, Builders & Breakers with Riël Malan. He advises several small companies and is passionate about mentorship and developing the African entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Senior Associate: Portfolio Growth

TBC

At Anza Capital, we are committed to investing in the future of industries that have the power to transform society, including our focus areas of food technology, just energy, and digital Africa.

What We Bring:

Anza Capital acts as a strategic partner, offering not only financial support but also invaluable expertise, connections, and guidance to help start-ups thrive in a competitive market landscape. 

1. Mentorship and Guidance
2. Network and Connections
3. Value-Added Workshops and Events
4. Access to Further Capital
5. Ecosystem Engagement

CEO of a private equity Fund Manager

Cathy Goddard

20+ years experience
Cathy is the CEO and founding partner in a South African-based BEE women-owned private equity fund manager FyreFem Fund Managers which was founded in 2017, a Category 2 FSCA-registered fund manager with a focus on SME’s, Gender and Jobs. Cathy is a board member of the Southern African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (“SAVCA”) since September 2016 and the Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”) since August 2020.  She is an Investment Committee member of Spear Capital, a Scandinavian-backed fund which provides growth capital funding of $2-10 million in Africa.  Cathy is a registered Key Individual for Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) registration purposes and helps to incubate venture capital funds, impact funds and first time fund managers. She works with I’M IN incubator as a board member. Cathy is a registered senior business rescue practitioner and has experience in working with distressed assets and turnarounds. She completed the University of Pretoria’s first Certified Rescue Analyst course in 2016 and Impact Measurement and Management at the University of Cape Town’s Grad School of Business short course in 2019.  Cathy is very interested in how to manage impact and gender issues in business rescue.  Cathy is a member of the TMA,  South African Restructuring and Insolvency Pract. Assoc, the Institute of Directors and WomenOnBoards UK. 

Ex CEO: MEST (Africa)

Ashwin Ravinchandran

15+ years experience
Ashwin joined MEST in 2015 as a Technology Teaching Fellow and has since served as the Incubator Manager for MEST Accra and Director of Portfolio Support and Country Director of Ghana. With a background in Computer Science and Engineering and previous experience working in the innovation team at Honeywell and building startups in India, Ashwin brings extensive technical knowledge to his executive management experience at MEST. In his role as Director of Portfolio Support, Ashwin has overseen the growth and development of highly successful MEST portfolio companies such as Complete Farmer, Asoriba, Leti Arts and Kudobuzz, working to maximize their growth and success in terms of business development, product management and raising further rounds of funding. Ashwin is greatly inspired to nurture and guide the African entrepreneurship Space with a talented team so that these entrepreneurs can take on new challenges. 

Chief Executive Officer

Audrey Verhaeghe

30 years experience
An active Angel investor in South Africa. Leveraging three decades of global expertise in science, technology and innovation, Audrey has provided innovative consulting services to the public and private sectors. She has directed the design and implementation of ground-breaking programs and developed strategic policies and frameworks to ensure that start-up entrepreneurs move forward. She embarked on a 10-year journey to establish the SA Innovation Summit which is now recognised as the largest start-up event in Africa, integrating business, academia and government. She enjoys identifying, investing in and growing business opportunities.

Mining Solutions & IP Commercialisation

Roby Stancel

28 years experience​
Roby advises a number of VC, corporate VC and private equity funds on technical, cultural and financial due diligence and deal flow with a diverse network on five continents including Spike Stanford Alumni Ventures, Chrysalix VC, NewLab, the EU’s EIT Raw Materials or Wayra. He is an angel investor or board member for start-ups in the US, CA, UK, EU, CH, ZA and OZ. As a partner in the global consultancy VCI, Roby has been connecting the spaces of design thinking innovation and business strategy for over a hundred clients in dozens of industries, and advises large corporates and national institutions on innovation and strategy. While at Stanford and IDEO, he was part of the small team that invented Design Thinking. He also was part of the exco at Nanosolar, with half a billion dollars the best funded start-up of its time and an early unicorn. 

Early Stage African VC

Thandeka Xaba