Pierre brings over twenty years’ experience in private equity in frontier markets and a track record in establishing innovative investment platforms at scale. He was instrumental in establishing the African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP), managed by New Forests Asset Management, and in transforming AgDevCo into a scale investment platform focused on production agriculture.
He was formerly Head of frontier investments at British International Investments (formerly CDC), responsible for investment in pioneering investment platforms in agribusiness, forestry and renewable energy.
Prior to that Pierre was the CEO of a logistics business in Nigeria and the Fund Manager of the first private equity fund in Afghanistan (2006).
Pierre spent his early career at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company, and holds a D.Phil from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Pierre is based in Cape Town with his wife, a young son and two dogs and, when not strictly at work, can be found touring Africa’s more remote wilderness areas with his 4×4 or, better still, on foot.
Michael brings over 30 years of experience in African private equity much of it with Actis where he was a founding partner and Managing Director based in Nairobi. He serves on numerous boards, including the Nairobi Securities Exchange, AgDevCo, Maris and Rhino Ark.
He has been instrumental in some of Actis’ key successes in Africa including: the launch of Acacia Fund, the first private equity fund in Kenya, and investments in Flamingo, Banque Commerciale du Rwanda, Grain Bulk Handlers Limited and DFCU.
Michael grew up in the Serengeti National Park where his father was the park warden. He has pioneered innovative nature-positive investment models on the continent including by bringing The Nature Conservancy into a wind-energy project in Kenya and transforming the way renewable energy, communities and wildlife coexist.
Raised in Tanzania, Michael started his career in the UK at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lehman Brothers and Kleinwort Benson before joining CDC Group pls in the 1990s as an investor focused on Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
Michael has a first-class degree in Civil Engineering from Southampton University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Stephanie is an impact, ESG and BI specialist with 15+ years of impact investment management experience in Sub-Saharan Africa including at leading forestry companies New Forests, Green Resources, and Miro.
She brings extensive knowledge and experience in managing complex projects using a risk-based approach and aligned to international standards. Her experience includes hands-on greenfield forestry project implementation, fund management and advisory. Stephanie is passionate about using innovative approaches and methodologies in challenging geographies.
Stephanie holds a MA in African Studies from SOAS University of London, and a BSC in Environmental Science from Oxford Brookes University.
Stephanie splits her time between Kenya and Shropshire. Having grown up on a tea plantation and more recently on a sheep farm, she is happiest when outdoors with her son and dogs.
Diederick is an experienced manager, bringing project management, operations, and strategy expertise to the team.
Prior to joining Natural Heritage Capital, he spent four years in McKinsey & Company’s Johannesburg office, where he supported African businesses achieve rapid scale and operational turnarounds across a range of sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, consumer, mining, and financial services.
Diederick holds a MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is passionate about African conservation and ecology and is a qualified Field Guide and FGASA Member.
He can be found touring Southern Africa in his Land Rover in any spare moments.
Ed brings over a decade of experience operating in and investing directly into Sub Saharan Africa, including with CDC (BII) and Heineken.
He has experience across the investment process, in developing, originating and structuring commercial opportunities in geographies and areas receiving extremely limited private sector investment.
His sector focus has been in agricultural investments, where he has invested through different products and developed innovative structures. Ed holds an MA from Edinburgh University.
We are actively expanding the team through the recruitment of an experienced Investment Director.
