South Africa: Solidarity Fund appoints Tandi Nzimande to take over as CEO

The Fund’s board formally endorsed Nzimande at a meeting on Tuesday. “Her work, not only in major financial institutions, but in the development and empowerment fields, places her in an ideal position to lead The Fund as it moves into a new phase of its existence and carries on its important work to meet its mandate through efficiency, integrity and passion,” reads a statement released on Wednesday.

Nqweni leaves her position at the end of this week and The Fund thanked her for her hard work, passion and steady leadership during a challenging time for all of South Africa.

“For the seven months of her pro bono tenure, (Nqweni) has worked tirelessly to establish and maintain a credible and transparent structure that would enable The Fund to respond rapidly and responsibly to South Africa’s needs during the Covid-19 pandemic,” reads the statement.

“The Solidarity Fund is a job of passion,” said Gloria Serobe, chairperson of The Fund. “It requires commitment, determination, and a core belief in the power we South Africans have to beat any challenge when we stand together.

“The Fund has been blessed to work with such a dedicated team led by (Nqweni) and on behalf of the board, I would like to express my full gratitude for the solid ground she has laid for the Fund and I look forward to working with Nzimande as we take the Fund into the future.”

Nzimande is a Chartered Accountant who started her post articles career as a corporate finance advisor at Deutsche Bank. Following that, she acquired and ran a small business in the postal and courier industry for four years. During that period, she did work for WDB Investment Holdings, a women’s empowerment company where she eventually spent 14 years.

She was most recently at Chapter One Innovation Brokerage, a business model research and development firm.

Nzimande joined the Hollard Foundation Trust as trustee in 2013 and started working more closely with its Early Childhood Development programme, KYB Change Management and KYB Incubator, as well as its Youth Employment Accelerator Programme, Harambee. She is a board member of FirstRand, a trustee of the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation and a fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative.

The pandemic is far from over and, thanks to the guidance of leaders and volunteers – past, present and future – The Fund will continue working to support the national effort in providing aid and support to those affected by COVID-19.