Fellows

Current Fellows

Margareth Conceição

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Luke Eghire

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Past Fellows

Lorryn Williams

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Mila Methvin

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Simbarashe Mumera

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Sandra Makuchete

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Patricia Chirwa

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Anna Finizio

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Vera Awachie

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Thato Brander

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Alex O'Riordan

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Tiago Gomes

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Andreas Fransson

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Salma Elhadi

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Hannah Greene

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Omar Seguel

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Felix Philipp

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Manuel Rosas Vázquez

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Jo McDonnell

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Tessa Brock

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Trace Welch

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Anny Kang

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2020-2021

Sandra Makuchete

Sandra has an in-depth understanding of challenges faced by entrepreneurs and SMMEs given her extensive experience in Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment “B-BBEE” and Corporate Social Investment “CSI” consulting. She engaged with entrepreneurs/SMMEs, evaluated various SMME programmes, and advised clients on how best to grow and develop their beneficiaries. As part of her MBA programme, Sandra did a consultancy project whereby she helped devise an appropriate strategy for a UK firm seeking to support SMMEs in South Africa. She is also currently enrolled in the final level of the CFA programme (i.e. level 3 CFA candidate) and looking to facilitate impactful SMME investments and support  by leveraging learnings from her consulting and academic experiences; particularly critical, technical, and economic thinking in a way that adds value to entrepreneurs & SMMEs.

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Sandra Makuchete

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Anna Finizio

Anna is a current MBA candidate at HEC Paris specializing in Sustainability and Disruptive Innovation. She is the current president of the HEC Impact Club, a student-led organization that is responsible for organizing events that empower students to pursue a career with a positive impact on society. Before her MBA, Anna has spent five years in Johnson and Johnson, in UK and Belgium, working in various roles in Finance in commercial, supply chain, and financial planning departments.

At Impact Amplifier, she works on social enterprises acceleration projects and on companies’ impact assessments.

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Anna Finizio

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Vera Awachie

Originally from Nigeria, Vera studied Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and holds a Master's Degree from University Francisco Vitoria and an MBA from IE Business School. Vera is passionate about impact investing and socioeconomic development, she has over 11 years of business development experience with social enterprises.

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Vera Awachie

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Alex O'Riordan

Alex has a master’s degree in Economics from Stellenbosch University, where he focused on econometric applications of machine learning algorithms to solve development-based problems. He has spent several years in academia and published in a variety of fields including economics, education, psychology, and health research. Alex is passionate about South African economic development and after several years of focusing on the education system, has turned his attention to local enterprise development eco-systems. He believes that this field has the most potential to change the development path of African economies. He has previous experience in the Impact Investing space with an engagement at Heart Capital in Stellenbosch where he focused on sustainable entrepreneurship training programs, and UNICEF where he worked on the Yoma project, a start-up eco-system that assists young Africans gain and apply the skills most desired in emerging industries.

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Alex O'Riordan

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Thato Brander

Thato is an entrepreneur based in Sweden, he has strong expertise in technology-based businesses, Intellectual property, Innovation, and business development which he has gained from working in multiple roles. He holds a Masters's from the Chalmers University of Technology and is passionate about entrepreneurship and technology. Thato is determined to use his knowledge to create a positive social impact.

In recent years, he has worked on entrepreneurial initiatives that support the best Impact startups in the world. He has also worked with space-tech startups to help them gain Investments by connecting them with Investors. Thato truly believes African entrepreneurs have the potential to solve many societal challenges and over the years has dedicated a lot of his time to working with early-stage entrepreneurs through Umnandi social enterprise.

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Thato Brander

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Patricia Chirwa

Patricia Chirwa holds a masters degree in Applied Economics from the University of Cape Town and is currently enrolled as a PhD student within the School of Economics. Her research focus is on understanding the role of social and psychological dynamics in affecting progress of land reform programmes. Other research interests are in development microeconomics, social network analysis and behavioral economics.  


Patricia has worked as a research and data consultant on several projects, including working for the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights. She has held positions in various technical and advisory committees from her time working on the Land Restitution Impact Evaluation study since 2016. Patricia has experience in developing and designing administrative data processes and survey instruments. Through her extensive work with large datasets, she has become highly skilled in various data analysis and visualization tools.

She is motivated by ideas of inclusive, sustainable and home-grown African development.

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Patricia Chirwa

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2019-2020

Ashley Daswa

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Julian McNamara

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Charlie Killingbeck

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Nnamdi Ehirim

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Molly Hallahan

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Rakan Albarghouty

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Justin Haley

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Masego Valela

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Joseph Curran

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Nora Praher

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Folu Okunade

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Eric Fishel

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Karina Shah

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Ari Lew

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2018 - 2019

Rory Shepard

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Will St. Amant

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Ben Elconin

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Katelyn Diggs

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Yasmin Venema

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2015 - 2017

2021-2022

Simbarashe Mumera

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Mila Methvin

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Lorryn Williams

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“Working for Impact Amplifier has been one of the most exciting experiences I have undertaken. The wide range of services and solutions offered for both bootstrapped and more advanced social ventures makes for a challenging, motivating and inspiring environment. I highly valued the opportunity of joining a team with great expertise and diverse experience who were always on hand to help with anything needed. A great experience to learn about the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa and to immerse yourself in the wonderful, vibrant, dynamic city that is Cape Town. For sure, a unique and challenging life experience. One I’ll never forget!”

Omar Antonio, 2016

“My experience with Impact Amplifier was simply unparalleled, and I am certain that I’ll refer to my time here for the rest of my career. This firm sees opportunity where others would see an obstacle, and works towards mastery where many would be intimidated. The African continent presents a complex set of problems to practitioners of social impact, but this close-knit team works towards efficiently and effectively solving them. Was such an honor to be a part of this work!”

Hannah Greene, 2016

“Impact Amplifier has helped me gain valuable work experience and industry specific knowledge, which, I know, has given me a huge head-start in my career. In business; experience often trumps the books!”

Tessa Brock, 2016

Fellowship Opportunity

Impact Amplifier offers a unique opportunity to exceptional individuals with a demonstrated interest in social enterprises and impact investment.

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