Professional History: Dirk is an Investment Manager with CDC Group’s Africa team and leads the group’s investment in people, leadership, and management teams across the continent. As the world’s oldest development finance institution, and with a current portfolio of over 600 partner companies in Africa, CDC has a deep appreciation for the role leadership plays in building successful businesses. Drawing on this experience, Dirk founded The Africa List to specifically focus on ensuring the continent’s next business leaders are best prepared to drive growth over the coming decade. The Africa List community is now active in five countries and includes 500 top companies and one thousand leaders.

Prior to CDC, Dirk served as a British Army officer on operations around the world, including leading specialist teams on two frontline tours of Afghanistan. After the Army, Dirk moved back home to Zimbabwe and worked with Deloitte’s consulting and corporate finance teams to support private equity investment in the country and to help businesses grow after a decade of infamous hyperinflation.

Academic and professional credentials: Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Computing from Imperial College London
MBA from the University of Oxford, where he graduated on the Dean’s List
Officer Leadership Academy, Sandhurst

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