Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) has announced that Erika van der Merwe will be relinquishing her role as CEO at the end of February 2017. 

She will be relocating with her family to the Netherlands during the first quarter of 2017.

Van der Merwe will remain at SAVCA until the completion of the SAVCA Conference in February 2017.

SAVCA has now initiated a recruitment process for a successor.

Van der Merwe joined SAVCA in November 2012, and has focused her efforts since then on promoting the private equity and venture capital industry in Southern Africa, through SAVCA’s various initiatives.

Dave Stadler, Chairman of the SAVCA Board, said: “Erika has exceeded our expectations in this regard and has performed outstandingly, increasing SAVCA’s profile and fostering good relationships with all stakeholders, expanding its offering and membership, building a sound support team and establishing a strong financial base. Indeed, an impressive performance and track record. We are truly sorry to lose her services beyond the SAVCA Conference in 2017.”

Under van der Merwe tenure, SAVCA’s membership, which includes private equity and venture capital managers, as well as advisors to the industry, has grown to 151 firms, up from 128 in 2013.

In addition, the SAVCA operational team has expanded to four, and continues to be served by a board of thirteen directors. 

“At a strategic level, SAVCA remains focused on its vision of being a champion for private equity and venture capital. This is translated into practical initiatives designed to create an enabling environment for capital raising, and ongoing programmes to illustrate and communicate the activity and positive impact of private equity and venture capital managers on businesses, communities and the economy,” Van der Merwe said.

In delivering on these objectives, SAVCA communicates with its stakeholders and target audiences through a range of platforms.

Content is focused on highlighting the activity of SAVCA’s members, and ranges from highly regarded publications, which have included the three-decade history of private equity in South Africa (“Three Decades”), a journal of recent private equity activity in Southern Africa (“Dealing in Abundance”), the annual SAVCA Private Equity in Southern Africa Survey, a survey of the perceptions of private equity amongst pension funds in Southern Africa (“New Frontiers”), SAVCA’s third Venture Capital Industry Survey, the SAVCA 2015 Case Study Compendium, and the SAVCA-DBSA 2014 Economic Impact Study.

“We believe that SAVCA has, over the past few years, delivered on its intention to offer its members value through making this content available to key audiences, and by interacting with influencers, policymakers and legislators on behalf of the industry, thereby working towards ensuring an enabling and constructive context for private equity activities. It produces world-class training programmes, offers our members high-quality events and deals diligently and effectively with day-to-day member queries,” Van der Merwe said.

“It has been an honour to serve this industry of vibrant, smart, principled and impactful people, whose decisions, influence and actions continue to advance the Southern African region and our continent,” she added.