For twenty-five years, Paul has pursued the goal of catalyzing a free-market African economy supported by viable businesses. His early career in organizational development, driven by a passion for this field, has shaped all his activities, incorporating, but not limited to telecoms, tech, and media as he advanced. He was instrumental in developing an ISP during the early days of Internet service provision and subsequently served as an executive and COO of Vox Telecom. Since 2013, he has been an entrepreneur, project developer, consultant and originator in various business partnerships, focusing on growing business. His unwavering passion for helping businesses overcome challenges and achieve growth remains strong & culminated in 2020 with the founding of 5RC.
Dana is a career banker with over 30 years of experience in Investment, Wholesale, and Commercial Banking. He has worked for Barclays Africa Group (Absa) and AtlasMara, gaining expertise in various sectors across Africa and Asia. Dana has successfully managed diverse business units in regions including Hong Kong, China, and Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating strong leadership and a commitment to excellence and integrity. His strengths include strategic thinking, team management, and balance sheet optimization. Dana has also served on various boards in the financial services and energy sectors in both executive and non-executive roles and is a sought after advisor, financial consultant in M&A, equity investment and debt funding.
Tim earned a Bachelor of Social Sciences at the University of Cape Town, followed by a postgraduate LLB in 2007. He completed his articles at Lowneds Dlamini Attorneys and Schindlers Attorneys, gaining extensive knowledge in various legal fields. He then served as an Industrial Relations Consultant and later as the National Industrial Relations Manager for the CSC Group. With expertise in arbitrations, legal advice, and a strong focus on client needs, Tim focusses on efficient and effective solutions and specialties include union negotiation, salary arbitration, business planning, and managing labor conflict. Tim has also sat on the Board of Directors of a number of companies bringing his business and HR expertise to these entities.
Riad has dedicated his career to developing and scaling early-stage tech businesses to global markets, primarily from Silicon Valley. He co-founded Xona Partners, a tech investment and advisory firm, iValley.co, a Fintech startup studio, and Padovani Ventures, an innovation platform focused on emerging markets. He has held executive roles in several Silicon Valley startups, including Head of Systems Engineering at Wichorus, Head of Technology at Anagran, and Chief Architect at Caspian. Riad has advised numerous tech ventures in over 20 countries and has been a trusted advisor to governments, investment funds, regulators, and global corporations. He holds advanced degrees in engineering and applied mathematics, a Doctorate in AI from the University of Paris, and completed post-doctoral work at UC Berkeley. He has published extensively, holds numerous patents, and is an adjunct professor and angel investor.
Frank is a entrepreneur and business leader operating in the Telecom, Technology and Internet Infrastructure industries. Frank is a founding partner in Xona Partner, a tech investment and advisory firm specialising in Advisory Services, Strategic Partnerships and M&A, Investor Due Diligence, Technology Asset Valuation, Product Roadmap Definition, Build vs. Buy evaluation, and | Strategic Marketing.
Antony is a Taiwanese based management consultant specialising in organisational development and busness structuring, whilst also having extensive experience in people selection as well as sales people and sales systems development and management.
With 30 years of international entrepreneurial experience, Dion has honed his skills in strategic vision and global business development. Dion’s career spans online media, marketing, internet, and connectivity, driven by a passionate belief in Africa and its youth. Dion’s business partners and extensive global network are crucial to his mission, and he actively shares his experiences at international technology and media events such as Mobile World Congress, AfricaCom, GSMA 360, TMT Africa, and TowerXchange.
