Nomsa Daniels

Board Director at Heifer International

Nomsa Daniels is the CEO of Blue Zebra Projects (Pty) Ltd, a South African company that works with social enterprises in Africa to help them expand into new markets, raise capital and magnify their impact.

Nomsa is also an Executive Director of Anibok Investment Research Chambers (Pty) Ltd. The company conducts research and finds investment opportunities in Africa for its clients. Its principal client has been the African Opportunity Fund LP which is listed on the London stock exchange. AOP has invested in a wide range of African asset classes, including equity, debt and real-estate. Also active in the venture capital space, Anibok has invested in start-ups covering sustainable forestry, agriculture, education, microinsurance and technology.

Over and above her work in the private sector, Nomsa has extensive experience in the development/NGO sector, having served as CEO of the Graça Machel Trust, where she led a team of program specialists who drove the Trust’s work in Women’s Economic Advancement, Children’s Rights, Nutrition, and Leadership and Governance across Africa. As CEO she harnessed her experience in advocacy, policy development, research, network building, stakeholder engagement and fundraising to amplify the work of the Trust at national, regional and global levels.

As a founding member of New Faces New Voices (NFNV) and its first Executive Director, she led the organization to be at the forefront of pan-African and global initiatives aimed at accelerating women’s financial inclusion and women’s leadership in the financial sector. Through various NFNV programmes, she was instrumental in developing and conducting research projects to advance women’s financial inclusion in ten African countries as well as managing a network of seventeen chapters, spread throughout the continent.

Nomsa currently serves as a member of the International Advisory Council of APCO Worldwide, and on the boards of Edulution Learning South Africa NPC, Roedean School South Africa, and the Sešego Foundation.

She has a master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the City University of New York, Hunter College, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto.