Board of Directors

Mr Mhlongo leads NIF’s capital raising and Fund management efforts and is a seasoned leader with over 18 years of investment experience and a proven track record in infrastructure development. As the Managing Director of NIF, he has been instrumental in shaping the Fund’s strategic direction. He brings with him impressive expertise in infrastructure financing and local government management, having successfully led projects that have driven transformative change across South Africa.

Qualifications: B.Com (Economics); B.Sc.; MPhil; Master’s (Public Development); Master Certificate (Sustainable Infrastructure Development).

Mr Ncalo has brought 22 years of experience in traditional and alternative investments across Africa. Before NIF, he was Managing Partner at 8th Season Capital, working in investment advisory and capital raising. He previously led Old Mutual Limited’s Investment Strategy team, managing US$16 billion in policyholder funds and overseeing strategic asset allocation, portfolio positioning, and fund operations.

His career includes roles at Stanlib Asset Management, where he spent nine years as a Portfolio Manager and Analyst, and at Investec Asset Management, where he specialised in JSE-listed equities. An investment professional with executive training from Harvard and Oxford, Mr Ncalo is also a Certified Associate of the Institute of Bankers (CAIB SA) and a Registered Key Individual under the FSCA.

Qualifications: B.Com (Accounting and Finance); PLD (Harvard Business School); CAIB (SA); Oxford Executive Leadership Programme; RPE; FAIS Registered Key Individual.

Mr Marowa has 22 years of experience in corporate and investment banking, specialising in infrastructure finance as well as private sector and PPP markets. He previously held senior roles at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Commerzbank AG, HSBC Bank, and Standard Chartered, giving him experience with large-scale projects across sectors like transport, energy, water, ICT, logistics, and more.

As a recognised expert in his field, Mr Marowa has also served as a UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism specialist and contributed to South Africa’s Special Economic Zones Fund Adjudication Committee.

Qualifications: CBMBA; MMFI; MBA; MSc; B.Sc. (Hons); BTech (Chemical Engineering).

Alter Nyiko Mavunda Mbele is a distinguished expert in ESG, Climate Finance, and Sustainable Investment Strategy, with multiple years of experience in integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into investment risk management and financial decision-making across multiple sectors. She has played a key role in structuring ESG investment frameworks, managing climate risk portfolios, and advancing sustainable finance solutions for major financial institutions, development finance institutions (DFIs), and infrastructure funds across emerging markets. Currently, she serves as Head of ESG & Climate Finance at the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), where she leads the ESG strategy and Climate Finance portfolio, ensuring that infrastructure investments align with sustainability and climate change objectives. Her expertise spans investment analysis, ESG due diligence, and risk assessment across key sectors such as infrastructure, energy, mining, and transportation.

Qualifications:
Current: Completing PhD in Climate Science at Wits
MSc Environmental Science at Wits.
Executive Management Program, WBS,
Sustainable Finance, Oxford,

Business and Climate change towards net zero emission at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability,
Advanced Business Risk & Business Analytics UCT.

Ms Kumalo oversees NIF’s Public and Social Infrastructure portfolio, focusing on private debt financing for health, education, human settlements, real estate, and public infrastructure. With over 20 years in development and structured finance, she has led multi-billion-rand infrastructure investments and achieved high socio-economic and environmental impact deliverables.

Before joining NIF, Ms Kumalo was Principal Deal Originator at the Development Bank of South Africa and served as a Regional Head for Local Government, managing an R8 billion loan book. She spearheaded innovative financing solutions for Local and Provincial Governments, securing infrastructure investments exceeding R3,6 billion.

Qualifications: LLB; CGISA; MBA; EDP.

Mr. Jotham Makarudze has over 18 years’ experience in credit risk analysis/project finance and portfolio management. with expertise in credit risk management, project finance transactions, deal structuring , impact financing, governance and policy development, as well as providing technical leadership.

Prior to joining NIF, he was Head of Credit Research at Ashburton Investments. Formerly at Development Bank of Southern Africa(DBSA),
Intellidex Investment Research and Global Credit Rating (GCR). His experience spans both equity and debt capital markets in the areas of credit risk assessment, due diligence, risk policy development and review, financial modelling and portfolio management. In the infrastructure space he has covered projects across Africa in sectors that include renewable energy, transport and logistics, ICT, water and sanitation, mining, oil and gas. He has also served on the Board of the DBSA Pension Fund.

Qualifications: BCom (Wits), BCom Hons (UCT), CFA® Chaterholder; MBA (GIBS)

Ms. Viljoen has eighteen years’ international experience as a personal assistant and administrator. Working in both the Middle East and South Africa she gained extensive multicultural exposure to all aspects of corporate office management, administration, and PA functions.

Her career includes administrative roles across multiple industries, ranging from construction, retail, local and foreign market investments, gaming software development, hospitality, health care and insurance.