Investment team
Harnessing A Wealth of Experience And Strategic Acumen To Manage And Grow
Bafana is a co-founder and Managing Director of the firm. With over 16 years of experience, he is the former Chief Investment Officer for the country’s largest development finance institution, Botswana Development Corporation. He has previously worked for Vantage Capital as a senior investment team member in JHB where he was involved in the funding and structuring of mezzanine transactions on the R2bn Africa-focused Fund II, responsible for RSA, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia deals.
Bafana has also worked for VPB in Botswana and Namibia a Senior Associate executing private equity transactions in Botswana and Namibia. At VPB he was also one of the founding members of the VPB Namibia Growth Fund, instrumental in the fundraising and initial set up of the fund. He began his career as an investment analyst with one of the local asset managers. Bafana earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Finance) and an MBA from University of Cape Town. He also holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Business from University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Bafana has served on a number of boards in the beverages, hospitality, FMCG, Property, ICT and Agro-processing. He currently serves on the boards of Botswana Telecommunication Limited, Metropolitan Life Botswana, Rainbow Schools, FMRE and Transport Holdings.
Refilwe is an Associate Partner at the firm, with 17 years’ experience within asset management, private equity and debt and development finance. She was formerly a Senior Investment Officer at Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), where her responsibilities included deal origination and structuring, financial modelling, investment appraisal, due diligence and portfolio management.
Previously, Refilwe worked for a regional Nordic development financial institution – Norsad Capital as part of the investment team where she was involved in the origination, financial modelling, investment appraisal, conducting due diligence and structuring of deals across the SADC region including Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Refilwe began her career in 2005 as an Investment Analyst at Imara Holdings and later on Portfolio Manager with Botswana Insurance Fund Management (BIFM). Refilwe earned a Bachelor of Applied Finance from Macquarie University in Australia and a Master of Science in Finance (MSc Finance) from Warwick Business School, UK.
She completed the first 2 levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation with the CFA Institute and Financial Modelling and Valuation Analysis (FMVA) with the Corporate Finance Institute. She recently completed a Post Graduate Program in Data Science and Business Analytics (PGP-DBSA) from McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, USA.
Refilwe currently serves on the Liberty Life Botswana board as an Independent Director and Chairperson of the Investment Committee as well as FMRE and Rainbow Schools boards.
Refilwe currently serves on the Liberty Life Botswana board as an Independent Director and Chairperson of the Investment Committee as well as FMRE and Rainbow Schools boards.
Kopo is an Investment Manager at Aleyo Capital a role he assumed in January 2019. His responsibilities include all aspects of deal execution including deal origination, investment screening and appraisals, due diligence, financial modelling and deal structuring. Kopo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science (First Class) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Masters degree in Actuarial Management from Cass Business School, UK.
Tendai is an Investment Manager at Aleyo Capital with over 15 years experience in transaction advisory, capital markets and banking in Botswana and Zimbabwe. His responsibilities include all aspects of deal execution including deal origination, investment screening and appraisals, due diligence, financial modelling and deal structuring.
Tendai has professional member of Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA). He is a CFA Charterholder and earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree in Banking from National University of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe). He is an associate member of the Institute of Bankers of Zimbabwe and a member of the CFA Society of South Africa.
Alexis is an Investment Analyst at Aleyo Capital, leveraging her background in Financial Controlling, which includes her prior role as a Finance Intern at Botswana Post. She also brings valuable experience as a Controller at Orange Botswana where she was responsible for monitoring budgets, financial analysis, and strategic planning. She holds a Bachelor of Finance degree from the University of Botswana, conferred in 2022.
In her capacity at Aleyo, Alexis undertakes critical responsibilities, including deal screening, market assessments, due diligence, financial modeling, and deal structuring. Her analytical approach and expertise contribute significantly to the firm’s investment processes.
