South African Business 2018 edition

FOCUS
Positive change
through enterprise
development
The Masisizane Fund’s new CEO, appointed in mid-2016, has pledged to continue
the work of the Fund in contributing to positive change in South Africa.
Zizipho Nyanga, the new CEO of the Masisizane
Fund, has 10 years’ experience in business support,
entrepreneurship, deal making, financial management,
auditing, risk advisory and internal control
improvements in fast-paced organisations.
Promoted to the position of CEO in October
2016, she initially joined the Masisizane Fund in
2014 as the Head of Post Investment Monitoring
and Business Support.
During this time she also served as the Alternate
Chairperson of the Executive Committee Credit
Review and a Member of the Enterprise and
Supplier Development Committee (Mutual & Federal).
“Institutions like ours have a very important role to
play in creating access to funding for small businesses,
therefore we need to work closely with those that
have a similar mandate to us in order to make meaningful
impact. Maintaining strong and effective partnerships
with institutions like SEFA, Productivity SA,
SEDA, SAICA and Department of Rural Development
is very important in ensuring this," Zizipho says.
Zizipho holds a BCom Accounting from the (former)
University of Transkei and a Higher Diploma in
Accounting from Wits University. After graduating
she joined Ernst & Young (EY) as a Trainee and later
qualified as CA (SA).
EY’s global footprint provided her with an international
opportunity while she was seconded to
the San Jose office in California. During her time
there she was exposed to the entrepreneurial culture
in small businesses and her passion for rural
development and economic transformation was
born. “I learnt that the only way to truly bring about
economic transformation is to walk a journey with
the business and assist them to grow into a thriving
enterprise rather than to just give them money,
waiting for them to pay back and hoping for the
best. Growing and assisting a business successfully
can only be done through establishing good and
trustworthy partnerships,” Zizipho says.
It is evident from her career history that
Zizipho has the skills and experience necessary to
continue building on the good work of the Masisizane
Fund. The Fund is an Old Mutual initiative set up as
a non-profit funding company to provide financial
and non-financial support to small, medium and
micro enterprises.
Zizipho Nyanga
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018
132