M&A Advisory – Investment Banking Division, Absa Group

Lefa is a first-generation chartered accountant in his family. This would not have been possible without his family’s support and, importantly, the financial and academic support that was afforded to him by the SAICA Thuthuka Bursary Fund.

As a Thuthuka beneficiary alumnus, Lefa truly understands the importance of having someone believe in your potential even when various constraints may blind you from seeing that potential. He has had first-hand experience of how talent can be incubated, being a product of this incubation and targeted interventions himself.

Lefa is part of Absa Investment Banking Division’s M&A Advisory team where he was a deal team member that advised the Absa Group on its investment into a black-owned renewable energy investment platform. He has advised on various buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa and has a keen interest in BEE, transformational, financial technology and impact-driven transactions.

He is a registered SAICA assessor and evaluator for Absa’s accounting training programme and provides mentorship to trainees as well as university students. He is also a former chairperson of the ABASA Tshwane Education Committee.

Lefa is a proud member of the Vukani Cycling Club, where he has led several initiatives that would make cycling more inclusive to the black community. He is passionate about developing people and allowing people to ‘ignite their human spirit’. He has been instrumental in growing the number of cyclists within the club post lockdown. He has provided support towards increasing the number of black female cyclists through the She-Vukani initiative and his affiliation with a black women-led cycling movement. He initiated the annual Vukani Tour de Moz when Absa seconded him to Mozambique, which has bridged the gap between the South African and Mozambique cycling community.

Lefa prides himself on being a servant leader that needs no title to effect positive change in society and the business world by starting with his circle of influence. He believes that everything that he has done and continues to do in his career and personal space has been to glorify the Lord. This has always compelled him to leave spaces he entered and people he has encountered better off than when he found them.