
A Collective of
Ecosystem players
Working Together for a
Better Future
We are a collective that represents the South African entrepreneurship ecosystem, which includes investors, incubators, accelerators, and founders, uniting to support growth within the country by encouraging the development of policy that will benefit high growth startup entrepreneurs. We believe that South Africa needs a Startup Act in its legislation.

The Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is a group of people passionate about the vision of having a Startup Act in South Africa. They bring to the table their expertise in the South African entrepreneurial ecosystem and assist in guiding the process toward the actualization of a Startup Act in South Africa. The companies and individuals are reflected on this page, with their resumes or profiles.
Alison Collier
Managing Director | Endeavor South Africa
Alison has close to 20 yrs of experience in Strategy & Business Development roles in Africa, Europe & Asia.
She has first-hand experience in establishing global offices for multi-national companies, expanding start-ups from South Africa into the global markets and raising capital to finance growth.

Matsi Modise
Vice-Chairperson | SiMODiSA,
Founding CEO of Furaha Afrika Holdings, Matsi is on a mission to contribute to Africa’s skills revolution and boost South African entrepreneurs.
She sits on several boards and is
Vice-Chairperson of SiMODiSA, non-executive Director of Innovation Hub, and Chairperson of Kuehne + Nagel.


Vusi Thembakwayo
CEO | MyGrowthFund Venture Partners
Vusi is an international speaker of more than 15 years, a private equity Managing Partner at the venture of Watermark Afrika, Co-Chairperson at Silicon Cape, and involved in the investing front as the CEO of pan-African investment firm MyGrowthFund Venture Capital

Motlhabane Koloi
Director | Silicon Cape
Motlhabane has experience working with high-growth technology businesses. He has
worked in a multinational startup accelerator supporting venture design and legal
structuring for tech businesses readying them for investments and international
expansion. He is also a Portfolio Manager for Wesgro, the official trade, investment, and tourism
promotion agency for the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape.
Dr. Sumarie Roodt
Co-Chairperson | Silicon Cape
the Chairperson and Co-Director of Silicon Cape as well as a Senior
Lecturer in the Department of Information Systems in the Commerce Faculty at the University of Cape Town, where she has been teaching and conducting research since
2012. She is the co-founder and lead researcher of the Tech4Good Lab.

Zimkhita Buwa
Co-Director | Silicon Cape
She is passionate about female and youth entrepreneurship in tech, having developed both the student and women-in-tech
projects at Silicon Cape. With more than 16 years in the digital economy, she has accumulated a wealth of experience and industry knowledge and has enjoyed a rich and varied career that has cut across the spheres of the private and public sectors as well as non-profit civil society.



Caitlin Nash
Managing Partner | Loudhailer
Caitlin is a communication and brand strategist experienced in executive support, government,
leadership, and innovation.
A strong contributor to the African Leadership Initiative and
pioneered Municipal Communications at a Provincial and National level for a decade in
South Africa. Key communication and marketing advisor to 4IR Presidential
Commission.
Shelley Lotz
Head of Regulatory Affairs| SAVCA
Shelly is currently focusing on leading SAVCA’s engagement and advocacy efforts with regulators including National Treasury, SARS, SARB, and the FSCA.
Shelley has extensive experience in the financial services sector which includes 6 years at Horizon Equity Partners, where she was responsible for all fund reporting, valuations and compliance.

Tanya van Lill
Tanya is passionate about human and organizational development. During her time as a learning and development specialist focusing on management and leadership development, Tanya gained valuable experience working with various companies across a wide range of sectors. She is also passionate about developing the private equity and venture capital sector in Southern Africa
CEO| SAVCA

Join the Movement
By joining the Startup Act movement, you will be helping us drive awareness for the development of policy that encourages the growth and development of innovative and high-growth enterprises in South Africa. As a cornerstone of our country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Startup Act will play a key role in supporting South Africa’s high-growth entrepreneurs and people and will in turn encourage job creation and socio-economic development.

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