Get Familiar With SA Start-Up Act Steering Committee!
Get Familiar With SA Start-Up Act Steering Committee! The South African Startup Act Steering Committee is driving South African policy change to encourage the development of high-growth enterprises across the nation. The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from AfricArena, Digital Collective Africa, Endeavor South Africa, i4Policy, Loudhailer, the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), Silicon Cape, SiMODiSA, and Wesgro.
A cornerstone of our country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Startup Act will play a key role in supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging job creation and socio-economic development.
Get to know the team below.
Matsi Modise, Vice Chairperson of SiMODiSA, Founder of Furaha Afrika Holdings and Steering Committee Chairperson for the South African Startup Act
Matsi is on a mission to contribute to Africa’s skills revolution and boost South African entrepreneurs. She sits on several boards and is Vice-Chairperson of SiMODiSA, non-executive Director of Innovation Hub, and Chairperson of Kuehne + Nagel. Matsi has formidable experience in the technology disruption and innovation space. It comes as no surprise that she was named one of the top 30 African leaders in technology, business, art, science, politics, design, and media by Quartz Media Africa. She has numerous other accolades to her name, including being chosen by the World Economic Forum as one of the Top 50 Global Shapers to attend the annual Davos conference. Matsi is an experienced international speaker with a passion for entrepreneurship, leadership, and South African startups.
Tanya van Lill, CEO of SAVCA (Southern African Venture Capital & Private Equity Association)
Tanya joined SAVCA in March 2017 after a rewarding 10-year career at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), with her last role being Director of Academic Programmes. While at GIBS, she also served on the board of the Executive MBA Council (EMBAC), an international academic association that represents the Executive MBA industry.
Tanya is passionate about human and organisational development. During her time as a learning and development specialist focusing on management and leadership development, she gained valuable experience working with various companies across a wide range of sectors. She holds an MBA and Post-Graduate Diploma from GIBS where her MBA research focused on methods to develop a global mindset. Tanya also holds a BCom degree in Informatics and Honours in Business Management from UNISA.
She is passionate about developing the private equity and venture capital sector in Southern Africa. Through personal experiences, Tanya understands the complexities entrepreneurs face during the various stages of their business lifecycle and is a regular contributor at various events to help entrepreneurs and investors understand the value and impact of private equity and venture capital.
Alison Collier, Managing Director of Endeavor South Africa
Alison Collier has close to 20 years of experience in strategy and business development from roles in Africa, Europe and Asia. She has first-hand experience in establishing global offices for multi-nationals, expanding startups from South Africa into global markets and raising capital to finance this growth. She has worked at McKinsey and held roles in strategy and procurement at SABMiller and Unilever, based in the UK, Switzerland and Singapore. In 2015, Alison led the expansion of Cape Town-based BOS Ice Tea (an Endeavor Entrepreneur) to Europe, successfully setting up offices in Amsterdam and Paris. Prior to returning to SA in 2019, she led the digital transformation of Unilever’s Global Procurement which included incorporating a number of startups into Unilever’s global supply chain. Alison holds a B.Bus.Sci degree with Honours in Finance from UCT (2000) and an MBA from INSEAD(2004).
