Geetha Tharmaratnam is an investment executive with 19+ years of experience in Private Equity, venture capital, development finance, impact investing and insurance in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Geetha is the CEO of Aequalitas Capital Partners and leads the Impact Investment practice. She advises Investors, intermediaries, international development actors and companies interested in creating and implementing impact investment and Sustainable Development Goals related financing products.

Previously Partner – Africa & Head of Impact for LGT Impact, she was a member of Global Investment Committee and deal partner. Geetha was a founding partner of T5 Africa Capital Partners. She worked in the global Portfolio Management team and in the USD 1 Billion global impact health fund of the Abraaj Group. Earlier, Geetha was a principle in the CIO Office at Aureos Capital, the preeminent SME PE firm originally owned by the British and Norwegian DFIs (CDC and Norfund). Prior to that, she worked in Corporate Finance at Alea Group.

Geetha is an advisor to Capria Ventures, an accelerator for impact fund managers. She is on the Investment Committee of Aleyo Capital, a USD 50 Million Botswana Investment Fund and on the Board of Okavango Capital Partners, a fund addressing environmental sustainability and conservation. She is a trustee of the Royal African Society and an Eisenhower Fellow.

Geetha invests in early stage businesses in Africa as a venture capital investor.

Education: MBA and MSc in Management Research (Private Equity as an instrument of development in Africa) at Oxford University (Saïd Business School), BSc (Finance) at University of Bridgeport.

Geetha’s favourite place in the world is under a clear Southern African night sky.

Vhahangwele (Hangwi) Manavhela is an executive with 20+ years of experience in ESG and Social Impact across Africa.

Hangwi leads the ESG practice at Aequalitas Capital Partners. She works with asset managers, companies and development organisations to integrate ESG, drive compliance, provide training and capacity building in ESG.

She established and ran ESG and Impact at Africa’s largest asset manager, the PIC, across its diversified investment portfolio (Real estate, private equity and impact investing).

Hangwi previously worked at Tshikululu Social investment management, Care International, Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (gender-based violence support) and Nsovo Environmental Consultancy. She has served on advisory committees of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

Hangwi regularly speaks on ESG panels at conferences globally. She is an Eisenhower Fellow.

Education: Masters in Sociology (social Impact assessment) at University of Johannesburg, BA (Hons) in Psychology at University of Venda and University of the North (Limpopo).

Hangwi’s favourite place is her home village Gogogo, which has the best sunsets.

Vani is an environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investment professional with 12+ years of experience across Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America.

At Aequalitas Capital Partners, Vani is a director, advising and designing tailored ESG solutions for investors, businesses and industry bodies across Asia and Africa. She is experienced in accelerating the adoption of international ESG best-practices, measurement & evaluation, integrating ESG into investment/ portfolio management processes and driving delivery of impact.

Vani has held positions at TD Canada, Aureos Capital, The Abraaj Group and York University and has worked as an independent consultant. In her previous roles, she has overseen and managed ESG integration into over 40+ businesses. In addition, she helped a fintech company and other firms develop their ESG and Impact strategies aligned with Gender Lens Investing and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Working within cross-functional teams, she has supported the deployment of over US$1.3 BN across sectors including energy, healthcare, fintech, food services and logistics.

Education: Masters Degree in Economics from York University (Canada), Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Communications Studies and Economics from York University (Canada).

Vani’s favourite place is sampling the complex, multicultural delights found in the local eateries/ hawker stalls in Southeast Asia.

Penda is a marketing and development (including gender lens investing) professional with 6+ years of experience.

At Aequalitas Capital Partners, Penda leads all marketing activities, which include the development of the Firm’s marketing strategy in-line with the objective to challenge and deliver on capital for inclusion in a just economy. She advises on appropriate communications positioning for clients including those in the Public Sector, the Private Sector and NGOs.

She has previously worked as a program officer at the Ministry of Family Affairs and Women Entrepreneurship in Senegal. She helped managed a USD 30 Million investment fund focused on women entrepreneurs’ projects. Prior to this, Penda was a sales associate at a French multinational, Necotrans-Senegal/ Renault-Nissan where she worked on developing and implementing a new marketing strategy to for the business to gain market share in Senegal and become a top five distributor of automobiles and heavy equipment. She also managed sponsorship programmes and community relations’ events for the company.

Education: Msc in International Management with Marketing at University of Roehampton, Masters in International Business at Groupe Sup De Co (Dakar, Senegal, Bsc in International Business at University Cheikh Anta Diop (Dakar, Senegal).

Penda’s favourite place is anywhere where she can enjoy African Art.