Our mission

To build a portfolio of sustainable businesses across Africa, with the aim of unlocking 1 million decent jobs.

Savo is an award-winning BCorp building Africa’s first Sustainable Investment Bank and developing a portfolio of Sustainable Ventures.

Africa is home to a rapidly growing young population, accelerating urbanisation and abundant natural resources - fuelling a wave of innovation and opportunity.

Yet many high-potential ideas and businesses struggle to scale due to execution gaps, limited resources and misaligned incentives. At the same time, investors often face challenges aligning capital with ventures that deliver both strong returns and lasting impact.

Our mission is to bridge this gap.

Who we are

Savo operates with a lean, agile team that brings a proven track record and a flexible, hands-on approach to building and scaling high-impact businesses. This core team is supported by a group of senior advisors who offer strategic insight and sector expertise.

As our ventures grow, they are led by dedicated in-house teams focused on scaling long-term, sustainable businesses. Across everything we do, we work closely with a trusted network of partners and collaborators to deliver meaningful impact across Africa.

Savo was incubated by SYSTEMIQ, where our founders played a key role in building one of the world’s leading sustainability advisory and investment firms. We continue to work in close partnership with them today.

Meet the team

Gail Klintworth

CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER

Gail currently serves as Member of The Supervisory Board of Rabobank, Board Advisor to MAS Holdings, Chair of the Shell Foundation, Chair of Globescan Inc. and Chair of Integrity Action. Formerly, she was Executive Director for Old Mutual PLC. Prior to that, Gail worked for Unilever PLC, most recently as Chief Sustainability Officer and, before that, led the Global Savoury business, Global Laundry Brands and was CEO of Unilever South Africa.

Amy Jadesimi

BOARD DIRECTOR

Amy is a Nigerian businesswoman and Managing Director of LADOL, the largest privately owned sustainable economic free zone in Nigeria. In 2018, Amy was named Young CEO of the Year at the Africa CEO Forum. Alongside her work with LADOL and Savo, Amy is on the Prince’s Trust International global advisory board, a founding commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission and is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Maritime Forum.

Robbie Marwick

CEO & FOUNDER

Robbie has a background in investment, tech start-ups, economic development, human rights and management consulting with McKinsey & Co. As an investor, he has covered Africa for a USD 50 billion public equity fund. As one of SYSTEMIQ’s first employees, he helped grow the company from 5 to 200 people. As Savo’s CEO, Robbie oversees both Savo’s advisory business and venture studio and is currently the interim CEO of Africa Carbon Partners, one of Savo’s portfolio companies.

Chris Klintworth

COO & FOUNDER

Chris is an experienced team leader across diverse projects, including real estate, manufacturing, sustainable forestry and agriculture. Specialising in strategy, process management, partnerships and deal making, he oversees Savo’s operations and East African business, delivering commercial execution, operational leadership and supply chain expertise. Previously, Chris worked in microinsurance, FMCG, consulting and project development in emerging markets.

Ade Okuwoga

FOUNDER

Ade is a co-founder of Savo with experience in strategy, investment and project development across climate, energy and industry. Now an Associate at General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero fund, he supports Savo through strategic input and access to global networks, insights and opportunities. He previously led project development at SYSTEMIQ and worked with McKinsey, Chevron and the UN. Ade holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alexandra Esteve Santos

INVESTMENT MANAGER

Alex leads Savo’s transaction advisory work, bringing expertise in deal origination, investment structuring, preparation and execution. Before joining Savo, she was an Associate in Rothschild & Co’s Infrastructure M&A and Debt Advisory team. Alex is a board member of a sustainable “farm to skin” beauty brand in Mexico and a trustee of Fabretto UK, a charity supporting children’s education in Nicaragua. She holds a BSc in Economics and Economic History from the LSE.

Yomi Aleshe

PROJECT MANAGER

Yomi brings commercial, operational and relationship-building expertise to Savo, having supported business building and investment transactions across West and East Africa in real estate, renewables, mobility and manufacturing. Prior to Savo, he was a consultant at PwC London, leading transformation programmes across energy, utilities, retail and FMCG. He holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London.

Aditya Sheth

PROJECT MANAGER

Aditya brings commercial and transaction expertise to Savo, where he leads our work in Sudan and manages investor delivery and venture incubation projects across West and East Africa. He has built a career helping early-stage businesses in emerging markets access impact capital, with a focus on high-growth, impact-driven sectors. Prior to Savo, he led investment processes at Cygnum Capital, advised private equity clients at EY, and worked in audit with Deloitte.

Salma Ait Hssayene

PROJECT MANAGER

Salma brings deep strategy consulting experience, having advised national governments, foundations and development partners on projects driving economic and social development across Africa and the Middle East. Her work has focused on digital transformation, job creation and youth employment. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, and speaks Arabic, French and English.

Naomi Egoh

ANALYST

Naomi brings financial management and international development expertise to Savo, with a Master’s in Accounting, Accountability and Financial Management from King’s College London and a First-Class Honours in International Development from the University of East Anglia. Naomi works across Savo’s project development, pipeline development and venture building portfolio by providing analytical, stakeholder management and impact assessment support.