The East Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EAVCA)’s Executive Director, Nonnie Wanjihia Burbidge will be leaving the organization at the end of October 2016 after three years in the role.

Wanjihia Burbidge told Africa Global Funds that she will be joining Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) in November.

“It’s been an honor to serve as the founding executive director of EAVCA and I’m super proud of what has been achieved in the 3 years it has been in existence. I’m excited about the future of the private equity industry in East Africa and really looking forward to continuing to support its growth from my new role at ECP,” she said.

In serving as EAVCA’s founding Executive Director, Wanjihia Burbidge oversaw the establishment of the Association, provided daily leadership and administration of its affairs and valuable services and programmes for its members with a focus on the promotion of the East African private equity investment industry at a regional and global level.

During her tenure the Association grew from seven founding members to over 60 firms with a regional footprint and achieved significant milestones including training over 200 investment professionals, publication of research in conjunction with partners and stakeholder engagement with a focus on the local institutional investment ecosystem.

Eline Blaauboer, EAVCA's Board Chair, wished Wanjihia Burbidge “the very best for the future” and thanked her “for the enormous contributions in building the first private equity trade association for East Africa”.

The Board of Directors is working closely to manage the transition and a search for a new leader.

EAVCA has now initiated a recruitment process for a successor.

EAVCA was founded in 2013 to represent the private equity industry in East Africa and provide a voice for industry players to raise awareness and engage on regional policy matters.

The Association also offers training with localized content, targeting a variety of the industry’s team members.

Furthermore, the Association offers networking opportunities for members and the wider investment community, including an annual investor conference, and captures industry data and statistics.

The EAVCA seeks to bridge the knowledge gap between the public and private sector on the importance of the asset class and the impact the nascent industry can have on growing enterprises and the development of East African economies.

The EAVCA’s founding members are AfricInvest, Catalyst Principal Partners, Fanisi Capital, Actis, TBL Mirror Fund, Centum and Abraaj.

The current board also sees representation from Acumen, DOB Equity and Kuramo Capital.