Dr Mthandazo Ngwenya

Managing Director: Development Advisory and Impact

After spending two years in East Africa, where he was the Africa Director at Intellecap Advisory Services, based in Nairobi, Kenya and responsible for delivering projects across Africa, Dr Mthandazo Ngwenya joined the Bigen team as Managing Director, Development Advisory and Impact (DAI) in January 2019.

His formidable track-record in investment and fund management includes growth of more than $2 billion in investment funds and assets earmarked for financing projects in Africa. He has advised global corporations, investors, foundations, development finance institutions and governments. Dr Ngwenya applies his considerable business acumen and legal expertise to leverage market-based solutions, scale innovations and strengthen government systems in Africa and Asia.

As a valued member of the Africa Advisory Board of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investing (GSG) (2018) and the Senior Advisory Group of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2017), Dr Ngwenya’s significant contributions to establishing impact investing national boards across Africa and developing blended financing principles for OECD member states, respectively, is well recognised. At the invitation of the German Ministry of finance, he also presented papers on financial inclusion policy and mobile banking at the G20 Summit in Berlin in 2017. His executive and consulting positions in financial services, manufacturing, academic, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and international consultancy covers a wide range of projects. He has served as director on public and private sector boards, as public and investment officer of investment funds and an advisor on foreign investment regulation policy to the South African Development Community (SADC) in Botswana. He is also a former Board Examiner and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries (CIS) SA.

Dr Ngwenya academic qualifications include doctoral and master’s degrees in law, finance and business administration from local and international universities and he has authored numerous conference papers. His media profile includes exposure through leading media houses, such as CNBC, BBC, CNN and SABC Africa, where he shared his insights in business, economics, sustainable development and politics in Africa.

“I have a fundamental belief that Africa is increasingly democratising and offers phenomenal growth potential for corporations and African states. We need to attract local and international capital and expertise to scale innovations, small and medium enterprises across the continent”.