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).
Zizipho Nyanga
“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.
For more information, contact the Masisizane Fund.
Originally published in the 2017 edition South African Business.
