ARCH Emerging Markets Partners

Marlene Jennings

Chief Executive Officer

Marlene Jennings

Chief Executive Officer

Marlene was appointed Chief Executive Officer, having previously served as a Non-Executive Director since 2018. Prior to Marlene’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer, she served as the General Counsel of African Rainbow Capital Proprietary Limited (“ARC”) and the ARC group. ARC, a majority shareholder in ARCH, is an investment holding company focused on South African and African financial services. Before being called to the Johannesburg Bar, Marlene had a distinguished career in investment banking, holding prominent roles at Merrill Lynch, UBS, Nedbank, and Absa Capital.

Education

Marlene holds degrees in Accounting and Law and BCom Accounting from the University of Johannesburg.

Location: South Africa

Johan van der Merwe

Non-Executive Director

Johan van der Merwe

Non-Executive Director

Johan is a non-executive director for ARCH and is currently the Co-CEO of African Rainbow Capital. Johan started his career at Investec Asset Management and also held the role of CEO of Sanlam Investment Management.

Education

Johan qualified as a CA, and holds Master In Income Tax (University of Pretoria) and a Master of Philosophy in Finance at Cambridge University. Johan also completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School and the Challenge of Leadership at Insead Business School.

Location: South Africa

Murat Erden

Non-Executive Director

Murat Erden

Non-Executive Director

Murat Erden has served as a Non-Executive Director at ARCH since its founding in 2018 and chairs the Audit & Risk Committee. He is Group CFO of Dangote Industries, Africa’s leading diversified conglomerate, and previously Group CFO of Turkcell (NYSE: TKC), with three decades of experience across banking, private equity, TMT, and industrials.

Education

Murat holds degrees in Economics from the Bogazici University and an MBA in Finance from San Diego State University. Murat is also a graduate of London Business School and Wharton Executive Development programs.

Location: London

Mike Pritchard

Chief Financial Officer

Mike Pritchard

Chief Financial Officer

Mike Pritchard joined ARCH in May 2018 and is responsible for all aspects of finance, tax and fund administration. Before joining ARCH, Mike spent twelve years as Head of Finance at BC Partners, a Pan-European private equity firm. Mike is an executive member of the Board of Directors.

Education

Mike holds an Accounting degree from Cardiff Business School and is a Fellow of the ICAEW.

Location: London

Zahid Ahmed Hassen

Managing Director

Zahid Ahmed Hassen

Managing Director

Zahid Ahmed Hassan joined ARCH in 2019 and is responsible for business development and investment execution of ARCH’s renewable power investment strategy across the continent, including general oversight of African-based project development staff. Zahid has over 15 years of experience in Africa across multiple sectors, having worked previously at BioTherm Energy, aloeCap, and Deloitte.

Education

Zahid is a qualified Chartered Accountant (South Africa). He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and a Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Witwatersrand.

Location: Nairobi

Fredd Kambo

Managing Director

Fredd Kambo

Managing Director

Fredd joined ARCH in 2023 and is responsible for development and execution of ARCH’s Cold Chain East Africa investment strategy. Fredd has over 12 years’ of Private Equity Fund Experience. Fredd brings experience and expertise in deal execution and portfolio management having worked previously in senior roles at Zoscales Partners, NIC Capital Investment Bank and Sanlam Investment Management.

Education

Fredd holds a Bachelor of Law with Honours (LLB Hons) and MSc in International Business from the University of Nottingham.

Location: Nairobi

Azhar Rifai

Managing Director

Azhar Rifai

Managing Director

Azhar Rifai joined ARCH in 2018 and is based in Nairobi. He is responsible for identifying strategic assets and project management of the construction and management of cold storage facilities. Azhar has over 15 years’ experience of the telecoms, media and technology industry and has a strong working knowledge of operations, special projects and restructuring.

Education

Azhar is currently studying for an MBA from Cass Business School and has accreditations in project management from Prince2.

Location: Nairobi

William Barry

Head of Energy Strategy

William Barry

Head of Energy Strategy

William (Bill) Barry joined ARCH in 2018 and is responsible for development and execution of ARCH’s Africa renewable power investment strategy. Bill has over 20 years of experience in emerging market power project development and finance, having worked previously in senior roles at eleQtra, ContourGlobal, Merrill Lynch and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (now the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation).

Education

Bill holds a degree in Economics from George Washington University and an MBA in Finance from the New York University Stern School of Business.

Location: London

Melanie Mann

Head of ESG

Melanie Mann

Head of ESG

Melanie Mann joined ARCH as Head of ESG in 2021. Melanie has over 18 years experience as an ESG/Sustainability consultant working with financial institutions, advising them on their strategic approaches to ESG risk and opportunity management as well as transaction and portfolio management. Through this, Melanie has in depth working knowledge of the various E&S standards of DFIs, and best practice knowledge of developing and implementing effective ESMS in private equity funds.

Education

Melanie holds a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College and a BSC (Hons) in Biology and Geography from the University of Liverpool.

Location: London

Noreht Viljoen

Head of HR and Operations

Noreht Viljoen

Head of HR and Operations

Noreht Viljoen joined ARCH in 2018 and is based in London. She is responsible for oversight of all HR functions across ARCH. Noreht has over a decade of experience constructing, implementing and managing international human resources infrastructure and operations.

Education

Noreht holds a BA from the North West University in South Africa and is a chartered member of the CIPD.

Location: London

Mariam Akanbi

General Counsel

Mariam Akanbi

General Counsel

Mariam Akanbi joined ARCH in 2019 as Senior Counsel and is responsible for all aspects of ARCH’s legal functions across the business, including advisory themes. Mariam has extensive experience in representing fund managers investing in emerging markets across Asia and Africa on fund formation, investor negotiations, and fund operation matters and was a senior associate at Goodwin Procter (UK) LLP.

Education

Mariam holds a BA in Law and Sociology from the University of Warwick.

Location: London

Mahib Cisse

Director

Mahib Cisse

Director

Mahib Cisse joined ARCH in 2021 and is responsible for the implementation of ARCH’s renewable power investment strategy in both West and Central Africa, through notably the origination and the execution of ARCH operations in the said regions. Mahib has over 30 years of experience in Africa and has previously worked with the national power company in Cote d'Ivoire as well as two International Finance institutions (IFC, African Development Bank (AfDB). Such experience covered several industries and particularly the power sector in its structuring, financing and regulation aspects.

Education

Mahib holds an Engineering Degree in electricity (National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France) and a Master in Finances and Management (International Francophone University of Alexandria, Egypt).

Location: Abidjan

Suki Muia

Director

Suki Muia

Director

Suki joined ARCH in 2022 as an investment director and is responsible for providing investment and operational support to the East Africa Cold Chain Solutions strategy. She has over 13 years of experience in deal sourcing, investment evaluation and portfolio management focused on both equity and debt in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining ARCH, Suki worked at Nabo Capital Ltd, an entrepreneurial fund management company in Kenya.

Education

Suki holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi and is a CFA Charter holder.

Location: Nairobi

Tonderai Munthumbira

Director

Tonderai Munthumbira

Director

Tonderai Munthumbira joined ARCH in 2023 and leads on the technical workstreams for ARCH's energy strategy. Tonderai has over 20 years of experience, 13 of which have been in the renewable energy sector, where he led the technical and development aspects for multiple renewable energy projects. He has previously worked at Engie, BTE Renewables, Aurora Power Solutions (now SOLAGroup) and Alstom.

Education

M.Sc. Project Management, University of Cape Town, 2007-2009 and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, 1997-2001.

Location: South Africa

Jahira Hamid

Financial Controller

Jahira Hamid

Financial Controller

Jahira Hamid joined ARCH in 2019 and is based in London. She is responsible for tax and financial reporting at ARCH. Before joining ARCH, Jahira was Finance and Operations Manager at Islandbridge Capital Limited.

Education

Jahira holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from Queen Mary, University of London and is a member of the ACCA.

Location: London

Edwin Chui

Investment Manager

Edwin Chui

Investment Manager

Edwin Chui joined ARCH in May 2022 as an Investment Manager. He is responsible for origination, appraisal, due diligence, structuring and investment execution of ARCH’s renewable power investment strategy. Edwin has 8 years of experience in Africa across multiple sectors, having previously worked at Nuru, a utility scale metro-grids developer in the DRC and at Dyer and Blair Investment Bank in Nairobi-Kenya.

Education

Edwin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Cornell University, NY-USA.

Location: Nairobi

Alex Azpitarte

Investment Manager

Alex Azpitarte

Investment Manager

Alex Azpitarte joined ARCH in 2021 as an Associate and is based in London. Alex has spent seven years in the engineering industry before reading for his MBA at London Business School. He has spent those years developing and managing power generation projects across the USA, China and Mexico.

Education

Alex holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and an MBA from London Business School.

Location: London

Feven Tesfaye

Associate

Feven Tesfaye

Associate

Feven Tesfaye joined ARCH in 2020 as a Senior Analyst and is based in Nairobi. She is responsible for providing analytical research and support. Before Feven joined ARCH, she was Senior Analyst with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency.

Education

Feven holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Gondar, Ethiopia.

Location: Nairobi

Charlie Stephenson

Associate

Charlie Stephenson

Associate

Charlie joined ARCH in 2022 as Analyst for the Sustainable Resources Strategy to support investment evaluation and deal execution. Charlie is an exploration and mining geologist who started his career in 2013 as a Junior geologist in Turkey. Since then, he has worked on a range of projects across Europe, East Africa, Australia, and Chile before moving into finance as an analyst for a mining focused, boutique stockbrokers.

Education

Charlie holds a MSc in Mining Geology from Camborne School of Mines and a BSc in Geology from the University of Southampton.

Location: London

Di Song

Paralegal

Di Song

Paralegal

Di Song joined ARCH in 2022 as Interim Paralegal and is responsible to assist the General Counsel with legal and administrative support. Di has experience with a wide range of legal matters and administration.

Education

Di holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP Law School and a BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance from Keele University.

Location: London

Nereah Ndalo

Office Administrator

Nereah Ndalo

Office Administrator

Nereah Ndalo joined ARCH in 2022 as Office Administrator to provide support for our Nairobi office. Nereah has a strong administrative background and extensive knowledge in office management.

Education

Location: Nairobi

Matseleng Makume

Company Secretary and Compliance Officer

Matseleng Makume

Company Secretary and Compliance Officer

Matseleng joined ARCH in July 2025. She holds an LLB Degree from University of South Africa and Post-Graduate Certificates in Advanced Company Law from the University of Witwatersrand. She also obtained a qualification in Compliance Management & Money Laundering Control from the University of Johannesburg. Matseleng is an Admitted Attorney with broad experience in providing legal, company secretariat and compliance management services to a diverse client base.

Education

Matseleng holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of South Africa and SLP in Compliance Management from the University of Johannesburg.

Location: Nairobi

Our Team

Marlene Jennings

Johan van der Merwe

Murat Erden

Mike Pritchard

Zahid Ahmed Hassen

Fredd Kambo

Azhar Rifai

William Barry

Melanie Mann

Noreht Viljoen

Mariam Akanbi

Mahib Cisse

Suki Muia

Tonderai Munthumbira

Jahira Hamid

Edwin Chui

Alex Azpitarte

Feven Tesfaye

Charlie Stephenson

Di Song

Nereah Ndalo

Matseleng Makume

Arch

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