Nala Growth is run by a team of young, dynamic and motivated investment professionals. This owner-managed team has collective dealmaking and investment management experience in excess of 30 years. The founders, Hopolang Ntoi, Thobeka Gcumisa CA(SA) and Dumo Mahlanyane CA(SA), serve in the roles of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer, respectively, and are each Deal Principals. They are supported by a Deal Associate, CK Busuma; three Deal Analysts, Lifelile Ntoi, Mhlengi Gcumisa and Henry Maseko; a Deal Administrator, Ntombi Dladla; as well as an extensive network of specialist consultants.

Hopolang has a Bachelor and Masters in Civil Engineering obtained from the University of Cape Town in 2004 and 2006, respectively. He spent the first five years of his career working as a Consulting Engineer and completed an MBA through the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) during this period. Thereafter he took up employment at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as a Business Analyst in the Mining and Metal Industries Division, where he spent eight years in total, and worked his way up to a Senior Dealmaker role. During this period, he participated in over 80 transactions (a significant number of which he was Transaction Lead), maintained a 100% credit committee approval rate, and was awarded Best Dealmaker in the Division in 2015 and 2016. In March 2018, he resigned from the IDC on good terms to establish Nala Growth.

As a Chartered Accountant with more than 10 years of deal making experience in the mining and metals value chain, Thobeka brings valuable financial accounting and deal making expertise to the Nala Growth team. After completing her articles with PwC in 2008, Thobeka joined the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as a team member in the Mining and Beneficiation SBU (which later became the Basic Metals & Mining SBU), awarded as one of the best performing business units at the IDC during her time there. As a dealmaker leading the financial due diligence on transactions considered for investment by the IDC she gained considerable experience in financial modelling, deal structuring and post investment / portfolio management. In her role as Deal Principal Thobeka is responsible for investment appraisal, due diligence, deal execution and portfolio management.

Dumo is a Chartered Accountant with more than eight years’ financial services post-articles experience. He is an experienced Transactor having spent five years at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), writing deals predominantly in the metals value chain. Subsequent to the IDC, he joined the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as an Associate Fund Principal, where he expanded his sectoral experience, writing deals in the Agriculture, Tourism, Social Infrastructure, Manufacturing, and Mining and Beneficiation sectors. Dumo’s experience includes investment execution and management.