Ata Capital - About Us

ABOUT US

About Ata Capital

We are a leading private equity investment management firm that invests our own and our clients’ capital into private businesses. We focus on identifying and maximising real investment opportunities that create sustained stakeholder impact, generate effective returns and contribute to the growth and transformation of our economies.

Founded in 2012 by Lelo Rantloane, Executive Director and Chair of the Investment Committee and the Harris Family Office, Ata Capital is majority black-owned and is managed by a group of seasoned investment professionals.

Our purpose is to attract and manage private and institutional capital, structuring diverse investments that generate superior returns for investors, employees and shareholders; whilst innovating for positive impact and transformation within investee companies and broader society.

Ata Capital is a proud winner of the 2021 ABSIP National Award for the best Private Equity firm and the 2022 ABSIP Award for the Best Private Markets Fund.

Our Team

The Ata Capital team is united in excellence and our commitment to Africa’s growth trajectory.

We focus on identifying and realising investment opportunities geared towards achieving transformation. It’s this kind of positive impact that motivates everything we do, while our commitment to world-class investor service guides all our decision making.

Lelo Rantloane

CEO and Chair of the Investment Committee

BSc. Engineering (Hons)

Lelo is the founding CEO of Ata Capital. As part of the company’s transition plan, he stepped down from the role of CEO in February 2021 as Ata Capital prepared to embark on the next phase of its transformation mission. Lelo remains deeply involved at Ata Capital and continues to lend his considerable expertise, energy and curiosity to his role as Chair of the Investment Committee. In this role, he contributes to our ongoing business development initiatives, ensuring further successes and delivering on the company’s vision for Africa. Lelo represents Ata Capital on the boards of Spring Lights Gas, Imbewu Capital Investments, Masana, Novare, Ndalamo Resources and Jachris Hose and Couplings.

Lelo is also member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and Chairman of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA).

Connect with Lelo on LinkedIn

Maredi Mampuru

Head: Client Relations

BComm. Economics & Information Technology Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership
MPhil in Business Management (Change Leadership) from GIBS Business School

Maredi focuses on investor relations; fundraising and business development; investment support; and monitoring and reporting. He is therefore the vital link in nurturing enduring, rewarding relationships with our investors. That’s something on which we place the highest priority at Ata Capital. Maredi’s many years of corporate experience give him deep insights into how we can best meet the needs of private and institutional investors.

Connect with Maredi on LinkedIn

Cebile Hlophe

Head: Finance

BCom degree (Wits university), Bcom honours (UNISA), CIMA, CA(SA), Professional certificate in Tax Advisory and Opinions (The Tax Faculty), Leadership Principles (Havard business School Online).

Cebile has overall financial responsibility for Ata Capital and its subsidiaries, including investment support, monitoring and reporting. Her blue-chip career has seen her accumulate significant expertise in investment accounting and investor reporting, enabling her to enhance Ata Capital’s reputation for transparency and accountability. She is deeply familiar with financial management and reporting requirements in South Africa. Cebile represents Ata Capital on the board Novare Holdings.

Sharlinee Nayager

Head: Legal, Risk and Compliance

LL.B
Postgraduate in Compliance Management

Sharlinee’s essential role involves managing and identifying legal, regulatory and operational risk for Ata Capital. With her in-depth experience and knowledge of innovative approaches to risk management, plus embedding risk-aware culture within key business areas of major corporates, Sharlinee possess the perfect blend of skills and experience.

Sharlinee is a member of the Compliance Institute of South Africa (CISA).

Connect with Sharlinee on LinkedIn

Mmatumelo Monageng

Senior Accountant

BComm. Internal Auditing

With over 10 years’ asset management experience in the Financial Services Sector, Mmatumelo brings a valuable skillset to our team. Prior to joining Ata Capital, Mmatumelo spent 9 years at STANLIB where she held key positions including Reconciliation Specialist, Financial Accountant and Senior Investments Accounts Specialist.

She also played a vital role in the STANLIB project team that delivered a new investment platform (Group Investment Platform/INN8) for the company’s Finance and Investment Admin teams. This saw her collaborate extensively on building, implementing and testing processes and helped hone her teamwork and leadership skills.

After completing her BCom degree at the University of Pretoria, Mmatumelo began her career as a Bookkeeper at Universal Property/Kyalami Events.

Nontokozo Luthuli

Office Manager

N4-Mechanical Engineering

Having been both an entrepreneur and bookkeeper, Nontokozo brings a deep, diverse skillset to her role as office manager at Ata Capital. Her calm, unruffled management of all our essential ancillary and support services enables us to concentrate on our core business of delivering impactful stakeholder value and engineering transformative economic outcomes.

Connect with Nontokozo on LinkedIn

Thando Maphalala

Investment Associate

BComm. (HDip) Accounting Science
CA(SA)

As an Investment Associate, Thando is responsible for investment analysis, research, deal execution and post-investment management at Ata Capital. With more than 5 years’ experience in private equity and corporate finance, he brings a wealth of knowledge and an impressive track record to the role. Previously Thando has worked with the PwC Advisory Business Restructuring Services team where he gained valuable experience across all corporate finance functions, Thando also spent over 3 years with a large independent fund manager, specialising in Pan-African deal origination and execution, as well as valuations, financial modelling and post-investment monitoring and management. This has stood him in good stead during his Ata Capital career.

Thando holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting and a Bachelor of Accounting Science from Wits University. He is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Connect with Thando on LinkedIn

Karabo Rathokolo

Investment Analyst

BComm. Finance

As an Investment Analyst at Ata Capital, Karabo is responsible for analysis, investment research, execution and post-investment research. This is a vital role which provides the foundations for investment decisions, and ensures that we can always negotiate and invest from an informed position.

Karabo’s background in corporate finance has given her invaluable experience in mergers and acquisitions, as well as Black Economic Empowerment transactions of the kind that we specialise in.

Her level of experience and expertise makes Karabo a highly valued member of the Ata Capital team, and enhances our capacity to identify opportunities and close deals that have the potential to deliver both financial and transformative returns.

Connect with Karabo on LinkedIn

Directors

Imogen Mkhize

Chairperson of the Board

BSc. Information Processing
Chartered Director (IoDSA)
Higher Diploma in Education
MBA (Harvard)

Recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2001 as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” and awarded Chartered Director status by the Institute of Directors (IoDSA) in 2013, Imogen brings a wealth of corporate governance and imagination to her role. She is an avid promoter of digital awareness and has driven the digitisation agenda within Ata Capital and the other leading companies and organisations on whose Boards she sits.

Connect with Imogen on LinkedIn

Mochele Noge

Chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee

Member of the Investment Committee

B Com (Econ)
H Dip (Corp Law)
Hons (Acc)
PGD (Tax Law)
PGD (International Tax)
M Com (SA and International Taxation)
CA (SA)

Mochele Noge is the Managing Director of Gioberti Investments, primarily focusing on project management and business development, alongside other important directorships. An experienced chartered accountant, valuer and modeller, he was appointed as a Member of the Tax Court by the President of South Africa.

Mochele is a member of the Institute of Directors of South Africa (IoDSA) and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Connect with Mochele on LinkedIn

Kevin Harris

Non-Executive Director

BComm. Honours in Finance & Economics

Kevin got his start in finance at Stellenbosch University with a BComm (Hons) in Finance and Economics. After that he had a stint in Old Mutual’s specialised finance division focusing on their interest rate and scrip lending desk. He followed this up with some work for Rand Merchant Bank’s equity proprietary trading unit in SA and in London. He’s a Level III qualified CFA and now manages a range of private investments in his personal capacity. These range from listed assets to private equity, with a focus on the tech, telco and energy sectors in Africa.