The Investment Committee

David has 18 years’ experience in capital markets and investments in Africa.

David is currently the CEO of Sterling Capital which is amongst the leading investment banks in East Africa. Sterling Capital is actively involved in driving the growth and evolution of Kenyan capital markets in REITs, derivatives amongst other offerings.

David is also amongst the founding investors and chair of Afvest which is a fast-growing equity investment holding company based in Kenya. Afvest seeks to make equity investments in companies with compelling future growth prospects.

David holds a B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town.

Sarah Ngamau has over 15 years of Private Equity experience and is currently Managing Director & Partner for the Moremi Fund, a Kuramo Capital Gender lens initiative. Kuramo Capital Management LLC is an independent investment management firm focused on alternative assets in emerging and frontier markets with a keenness on Sub Saharan Africa. Sarah leads Moremi Fund, a gender lens fund, financing gender diverse fund managers. Sarah is responsible for the strategy of the fund and identification, due diligence, structuring and execution of transactions as well as monitoring of investments and supporting the fund managers and entrepreneurs funded by them.

Previously, Sarah was Managing Director at Creadev International, an evergreen private equity firm with USD $2 Bn under management, wholly owned by the French Mulliez Family. Sarah co-led the development of Creadev Africa strategy and was responsible for deal sourcing and execution of transactions as well as portfolio management. She represented Creadev in board positions and board committees in the investee companies providing her wealth of knowledge, experience and networks to unlock value for the companies.

Before that Sarah was Vice President at Kuramo Capital Management LLC and for 7 years before that Junior partner and Investment Manager at TBL Mirror Fund, a private equity fund investing in East Africa. At TBL she was involved in sourcing, screening and evaluating new investment opportunities on technical, financial and economic viability mainly in the ICT, FMCG and Healthcare sectors. In her position, she represented the fund on Finance and Audit board committees. She also participated on secondment in operational roles at portfolio companies. In addition to her rich background in private equity, Sarah has wide experience in Finance and Audit functions having worked with, a Kenyan state corporation in procuring and distribution of medical supplies, and with a boutique Audit firm.

Sarah serves in several boards and investment committees and has been a mentor to several accelerator and innovation hubs designed to incubate and accelerate startups and help entrepreneurs grow their ventures to strong commercial businesses.

Sarah received her MBA with a concentration in Strategic Management from University of Nairobi. She holds a Bed in Economics & Accounting (First Class Honors) from University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant. In 2019 she was listed in the Kenyan Business Daily Top 40 under 40.

Kenneth brings on board solid banking and Corporate Finance Experience having worked on transactions across Africa, Asia & Middle East in various roles at Standard Chartered Bank with his last role being Associate Director at Standard Chartered Bank based in Dubai. He is also a director in other investment companies focused on real estate and student housing.

Kenneth holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Manchester, England and has also passed Level I of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.

Betty is a Corporate Finance and investments professional with over 10 years’ experience working with growth-phase and larger enterprises in achieving their strategic and capital raising goals. Key competencies include financial analysis, deal structuring, financial modelling & valuation, strategy building, business planning, business restructuring, due diligence, and fundraising.

The experience is drawn from having held various positions in local and international institutions and having advised businesses in multiple industries including Real estate, Hospitality, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Retail, Infrastructure and Manufacturing.

Prior to joining Sterling, Betty worked as a Finance Officer at Rift Valley Research Institute, an International NGO, where she was in charge of Grants Budgeting, Management and Reporting. Prior to that, she worked as a Financial Advisor at Jubilee Insurance and as a Financial Accountant at Safari Park Hotel & Casino. Betty is a CPA (K) and holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from The University of Nairobi. She has passed CFA Level 1 and is a certified FMVA.

Elizabeth is the chief executive officer of Sterling Real Estate Advisory where she is responsible for the company’s growth strategy which entails management of REITs, real estate research and advisory. She is an experienced investment professional with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services and real estate industries. She is skilled in investment management, REIT management, real estate, deal structuring, investment banking, and private equity.

Elizabeth previously worked as a research assistant at Kenya National bureau of Statistics where she was responsible for collecting and analyzing statistical data. In 2017, she joined Sterling Capital as a key team member of the Research department responsible for equity, fixed income and macroeconomic research.

Elizabeth is a CFA Charterholder and a graduate of the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor of Economics and Statistics.

Owens is a budding investment analyst with a keen interest in capital markets and investments management. At present, he actively collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to execute capital market transactions. He provides transaction advisory services on Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), privatization and business combinations, as well as providing advice on the financial, legal, and tax implications of the transaction, structuring the transaction, and identifying potential investors.

Owens also sits in the investment committee of Afvest, an investments company with a focus on identifying and supporting early stage, high growth start-ups with strong scalability through investment.

He holds a BSc Finance degree from USIU-A, concentration; Investment Management, Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA) certified, Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) Level 1 certified and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 candidate.

Davis joined Afvest in 2021. He has 3 years of experience in portfolio management, equities research, financial risk evaluation as well as financial modelling. Davis has been key in optimizing Afvest’s overall IRR with the portfolio he oversees generating double digit returns that are both above the cost of capital as well as comparative asset classes such as bonds, equities and real estate. He also has experience in private debt management as an investment committee member in a private debt fund.

Davis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Nairobi and is currently a Level 2 candidate in the CFA program.