Executive Management

Team

Our team of multi-skilled professionals brings a unique combination of complementary skill sets and vast experience, honed at some of the leading emerging market firms focused on Africa. We are passionate about what we do and seek to always put our clients’ needs first by going beyond the call of duty.
Our ethos is to build long-term relationships, but we distance ourselves from low-hanging fruit and quick, easy win engagements.
We are selective about who we work with and what we take on.

Lufuno Makhari - Managing Partner

BBusSc (UCT), Finance Honours, CFA Level III Candidate

Lufuno began his investment banking experience with Nedbank Capital in 2009. Following his time on Nedbank’s Global Commodity Finance desk, he joined Phembani Group’s investment team, led by Phuthuma Nhleko, where he participated in the origination, negotiation, implementation and post-investment management of transactions across a wide range of sectors.

In 2016, Lufuno co-founded RELA Alternative Investments, a closed-end passively managed investment firm with investments in the downstream petroleum sector via the PetroLu Group.

In 2018 he co-founded Chase & Willow Capital (Chase) and took on the executive role of Managing Director. He subsequently co-founded Panthalassa in 2023 as a complementary company to Chase.

Lufuno serves as a non-executive director on the board of Independent Alternatives, a South African hedge fund. He previously served on the boards of Debt Rescue, TBWA, Afric Oil and Genesis Employee Benefit Solutions, amongst others.

Mervin Muller – Managing Partner

CA(SA), BCom Hons, CTA, LLB

After completing his audit articles, Mervin joined the Public Investment Corporation (“PIC”) in January 2008, where he led the formation of the PIC Monitoring and Workout Division, covering primarily PE and project finance investments.

In his last role as Executive Head of Private Equity and Structured Investment Products (“SIPs”) of the PIC, Mervin was responsible for investment execution and management of the Private Equity and SIPs portfolio. In this portfolio he was responsible for approximately US$15 billion of assets under management.

In 2018 Mervin co-founded Chase & Willow Capital and took on the executive role of Managing Director. Mervin is a non-executive director of Bayport Management Ltd and in the past served on the boards of Libstar Consumer Holdings, Afgri, AfriSam, Medipost, Doves Funerals and Menlyn

Andile Keta – Managing Partner

CA(SA)

Andile is a versatile professional with expertise in finance, investments, and entrepreneurship. With over 21 years of experience, he excels in capital raising, debt structuring, mergers & acquisitions, deal origination, due diligence, and team management. His skills extend to stakeholder management, value creation, and corporate governance improvement across diverse industries.

As a seasoned executive and board member, Andile has a proven track record in stakeholder management, listed investments, private equity, investment banking, insurance, and the food and beverages industry.

His achievements include building strong corporate relationships, executing focused deals with prudent risk management, and consistently driving revenue growth and returns through corporate financing solutions and operational efficiencies.

Andile has managed assets and debt instruments exceeding R50 billion, closed transactions worth over R75 billion at institutions like Investec Limited Bank and Nedbank Limited, and served as the Founding and Managing Partner of Kleoss Capital Private Equity Fund I.
He is currently a founding member of Country Village Partners, an investment holding company targeting growth companies in sports, media & entertainment, and related industries

Reabetswe Mjekevu – Managing Partner

BCom (Hons) Accounting (UKZN), CFAL Level III Candidate

Reabetswe spent eight years at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) in various roles which culminated in her being the Fund Principal within the Private Equity division. Following her time at PIC, she worked as a Transactor at Transaction Capital after which she joined Vharanani Group as the Head of Corporate Finance.

Rea has previously served on the boards of Libstar Holdings, Bayport Limited and RTT Logistics, amongst others.

ROB CANNAVO – Special Advisor

Rob is a former South African Trade Diplomat, with overseas assignments in Angola, Italy, and the UK, where he served as Trade Commissioner in London up until the end of 2010. He then served as a Special Advisor to the UKTI team in South Africa, while supporting key initiatives between the UK and SA.

In this role, Rob established the first ever BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) Bilateral Partnership with the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) in SA, and the first ever BP ED Fund, amongst numerous others.

Rob is also registered with the FSCA (Financial Services Conduct Authority) in South Africa, and is an authorised and regulated FSP. Rob also acts as Placement Agent for key African Funds involved in Mining, Logistics and Renewable Power.

He advises and supports multinationals and SMEs to gain access to key opportunities across all sectors of Southern Africa; including Defence, Oil & Gas, Mining, Finance, Energy. He furthermore assists companies in navigating the understanding of BEE legislation and continues to promote bilateral initiatives to boost winning partnerships across Southern Africa.

AROUNA THIAM – Special Advisor

Fluent in French and English, Arouna’s extensive finance career spans Africa and the USA with over 23 years working with various businesses.

As the owner and manager of Africa Trade Promotion Sarl (ATP SARL), he manages the company’s overall operations, import and export activities, as well as consulting services.

Arouna acted as a primary liaison for corporate clients in West Africa and provided corporate and investment banking expertise as an agent on behalf of Standard Bank of South Africa.

His services were also extended to other South African banks and financial institutions, including Rand Merchant Bank, Investec, ABSA, and IDC.

Furthermore, Arouna served as a consultant and agent for Nedbank Capital, managing structured trade and commodities finance in West Africa for many clients.

Beyond banking and finance, he has held various roles such as Financial Advisor to the CEO of Grand Distributeur Céréalier du Mali (GDCM sa), Business Development Executive for Francophone Africa for a South African Corporate, General Manager and Partner of Africa Foods Logistics Inc in New York, and General Manager of SikFood Market Inc, New York.

Team