Investment Team

Polo Radebe - Chief Executive Officer 

BCompt Honours/ CTA; Post graduate diploma in Auditing

Polo is the co-founder and Chief Executive of IDF and is responsible for the strategic direction, market linkages, deal sourcing and management of the business.

After completing her articles with Gobodo Inc. Polo joined Aloecap, a corporate finance outfit, and later worked for the Standard Bank Property Income Fund. She left the private sector to join Government in 2003 where she served as the Chief Director responsible for BEE at the dti until June 2007. Polo served on the Advisory Board and investment committee of National Empowerment Fund until April 2008. She is currently a non-executive director of Identity Partners (Pty) Limited, IDF Managers (Pty) Limited, Icembe Medical (Pty) Limited and Meago Investments 1 (Pty) Limited. Polo also serves on the advisory board of Wits Business School Centre for Entrepreneurship.
 

Obakeng Madikela - Legal Advisor

BCom LLB (Post Graduate), University of Witwatersrand

Obakeng is an admitted attorney specializing in corporate and commercial law. She completed her articles at Webber Wentzel Attorneys in 2003. She has worked as in-house counsel at Sifikile Group (Pty) Limited, Alexander Forbes and Absa Financial Services where her duties included mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, deal structuring, training clients and providing general legal advice.

Justice Kganyago - Senior Business Development Associate

BCom Hons Economics, University of the Witwatersrand

Justice joined IDF Managers in 2009 as a Senior Business Development Associate. He currently leads the IDF Managers’ investments team. He is responsible for amongst others deal sourcing, deal execution, implementation, and post-investment portfolio management.

Justice started his career as a Trainee Business Analyst with Business Partners Ltd’s North Rand Team. He later moved to the role of Portfolio Manager responsible for the South Rand. Justice continues his passion for socio-economic development through promoting fair access to finance for black business and women.

Bongolethu Bacela – Senior Business Development Associate

BCom (Accounting and Finance), Rhodes University

After completing his tertiary education, Bongo joined SARS as a Trainee Income Tax Auditor on a one year contract. 5 months into his contract, he was promoted to Income Tax Auditor position on a full time basis.

After a one year long stint at SARS, he left and joined Business Partners Limited as a Business Analyst. A year and 2 months later Bongo was promoted to Portfolio Manager position. His responsibilities included deal sourcing, deal structuring and negotiations, implementation, marketing Business Partners products and getting involved in post investment portfolio management.

Bongo brings to the IDF Managers team a wealth of experience, and passion for SMME development.

Themba Ntini – Business Development Associate

BBA Entrepreneurship, Fox School of Business, Temple University

After completing his tertiary education abroad, Themba returned to South Africa joining Median Fund Managers as a Business Development Manager with a focus on post investment monitoring and support.

Previous work experience includes the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Philadelphia assisting SMEs with business planning and research; and managing a successful start-up company.

Themba brings to IDF Managers his passion and knowledge to source more investments and further the success of IDF’s portfolio.

Phumelele Thabede – Portfolio Administrator

BCom Hons Business Management: (Financial Management), UNISA

After completing honors, Phumelele enrolled for a postgraduate Diploma in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, with the University of Johannesburg.

Phumelele has served as as a Trainee Internal Auditor, Loans Reviews Officer, Research & Administrative Officer, Business Analyst: SME & BB-BEE Development Projects and Business Analyst: Accounts and Administration.

Previous work experience includes, more than five years, working in an environment that involves credit and financial risk management, ensuring compliance with legal framework reviews, oversight, stakeholder relations, project management, scheduling awareness campaigns, research and administration.
 

Board of Directors

Sonja Sebotsa: Chairperson

LLB (Hons) London School of Economics, MA: Economic Policy Management McGill University, SFA UK

Sonja has 11 years transacting and corporate finance advisory experience in Mergers and Acquisitions in South Africa and internationally as well as BEE transactions. She was previously Executive Director of WDB Investment Holdings and prior to that Vice President of Deutsche Bank, South Africa.

Sonja currently serves as a non-executive director of Anglo Platinum, RMB Holdings, Discovery Holdings, Dimension Data SA, Makalani Holdings and is a Trustee of the National Empowerment Fund. Sonja has been recognized by the BMF and ABSIP and is a member of the Presidential Working Group on BEE.

Dr. Lia Vangelatos: Non-Executive Director

B.Compt, UNISA, Doctorate in Business Leadership, UNISA

Dr. Lia has been employed at Anglo American since 1979 and has filled various corporate finance, financial, management accounting, treasury and business development positions. She is presently the Chief Investment Manager at Anglo Zimele, the highly successful and internationally acclaimed Enterprise Development and Empowerment Iniitiative of Anglo American, where she manages a team and takes a leading role in the investment process, sources and negotiates deals, seeks appropriate partners, appraises investment proposals, optimizes deal structuring, conducts due diligence studies, executes and implements investments approved, provides strategic direction and adds value to the porfolio of investments.

Lia has a deep understanding of the small business environment and the business forte to create, develop and grow companies into viable and successfully long-term businesses.

Lia holds a BCompt degree, an MBL (cum laude) and a Doctorate in Business Leadership all through UNISA. In 1989 UNISA's Graduate School of Business Leadership awarded Lia the Board's Gold medal for best MBL student out of a class of 151 graduates and a Scholarship for docoral studies. The central theme of Lia's doctorate was the development of a holistic integrated management model for South African companies.

Lia's interests include nature, travel, reading and music. She is a qualified piano teacher and is an Associate and Licentiate of Trinity College of Music London.

Modula is the Corporate Advisor at Khula Enterprise Finance Limited. She holds B.A. (Law) and LL.B degrees which she attained in 1999; and served Articles at Webber Newdigate Attorneys Inc. She got admitted to the bar in 2000 and has since been practicing as a commercial legal adviser and/or in-house counsel in the Financial Services Industry.

Modula has five years’ commercial legal experience and six years’ specialist experience in development impact investments - profitable investments which deliver significant social/developmental and environmental impact to South African economy. Modula has been strategic in the creation of numerous development investment funds mandated to make sustainable investments in the SME sector in South Africa. She has 11 years of extensive corporate law, corporate finance and development financing. Her experience includes commercial legal, tax, and corporate finance advisory serving a specturm of banks, assurers, empowerment trusts boards of private companies and Government institutions in Lesotho and South Africa.

She is currently responsible for capital-raising, implementing sustainable investment strategies for the equity fund portfolio and establishing new niche financial partnerships with public and private sector financing partners for co-investment purposes.

She is a member of Association of the Black Lawyers Association; Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP); sits on Investment Committees and Advisory Boards of several equity funds and holds two non-executive independent board seats.

Modula attained her BA (Law) and LL.B degrees at the National University of Lesotho in 1997 and 1999 respectively and got admitted in 2000 as an Advocate. She also holds several industry specialist certifications.


Dineo Skwambane

Dineo has spent he career dedicated to development finance. After completing her articles with Ernst & Young and armed with two undergraduate degrees, the first a BA (Economics) obtained from the University of the South, Tennessee, USA; the second, a BCompt from the University of South Africa granted in 1998. She then joined the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) where she spent four years, the last two focussing on the tourism industry.

After a brief two year stint at the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) Dineo joined Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) where she played a pivotal role in establishing; growing and managing the Enterprise Finance department which was responsible for micro finance as well as small business finance. In addition she managed various partnerships including the Franchise Fund with Business Partners and the Progress Fund with First National Bank.

With the conversion of UYF to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Dineo made her way back to IDC, this time into the Textiles Unit where she has been a senior account manager since April 2010. Her responsibilities include credit assessments and team leader on due diligences; on-the-job training and strategic industry interventions.

Dineo serves on a few boards such as CIDA Campus and a few other small private companies.
 

 
Tsepo Headbush

Tsepo Headbush is the founding partner of the New Brighton Capital. Prior to establishing New Brighton, Tsepo formed Alternative Equity Partners ("AEP") a US$100 million pan-African private equity fund-of-funds business for Brait South Africa Limited, and was the Chief Executive Officer of that business for 3 years.

Tsepo also spent 3 years at Eskom Pension & Provident Fund where he managed the fund’s R2.5 billion alternative asset portfolio. This portfolio included a R1.5 billion private equity portfolio composed of over 20 private equity funds and a number of direct investments. The portfolio also included a R1 billion Socially Responsible Investment program, which invested in a range funds and made a number of BEE investments.

Tsepo’s previous experience also includes 3 years as a private equity investment manager at the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund, where his core responsibilities included managing the fund’s financial services and technology, media and telecommunications investments across Southern Africa. Tsepo also lectures finance on a part-time basis at the University of Cape Town’s School of Management Studies.


Polo Radebe

Dr. Lia Vangelatos