Our team at Catalyst Venture is a dynamic group of professionals driven by a shared commitment to creating lasting social and economic impact. With diverse expertise across program design, research, strategic partnerships, and innovation, we bring a holistic approach to supporting entrepreneurs, social enterprises, and organizations. Our team combines hands-on experience in development, finance, and technology with a deep understanding of the unique challenges facing emerging markets. Together, we are passionate about transforming ideas into actionable, sustainable solutions that empower communities and foster growth.

  • Founder & Principal, Catalyst Venture

    Tina Mbachu, MSc, PMP, is a dynamic leader in global impact with over 12 years of experience advancing innovation, social progress, and economic development across Canada and Africa. With a strong background in business strategy, partnership development, program design, and fundraising, Tina has consistently driven high-impact outcomes.

    Over the years, Tina has secured significant partnerships, stewarded 50+ strategic alliances, and developed initiatives that foster inclusive technology ecosystems. Her efforts have led to a 200% increase in program participation from underrepresented founders and over $2.5 million in grants distributed to support diverse entrepreneurs.

    Tina has led entrepreneurship projects supporting women and youth in sectors like agriculture, led substantial revenue growth for non profit organizations, and expanded partnerships across several African countries, contributing to economic empowerment initiatives that advance financial inclusion and gender equality for communities across Africa.

    Her portfolio also includes managing multimillion-dollar projects funded by international agencies, where she ensured compliance, risk mitigation, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

    Recognized for her impact in the innovation space, Tina was named one of The Peak's Emerging Leaders. Through her efforts, she has helped unlock over $15 million in early-stage funding for underrepresented founders and empowered more than 7000 entrepreneurs across Africa & Canada with critical business education.

THE ADVISORY TEAM

  • Managing Partner, Preponderant Advisory / Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto Toronto

    Templar is the Managing Partner at Preponderant, Canada's leading Africa- focused market entry advisory firm. He specializes in strategic lobbying, government relations, and advisory services, guiding organizations in developing business opportunities and navigating strategy, policy, and risk mitigation for operations and investments in emerging markets. Headquartered in Toronto, Preponderant serves a diverse clientele across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. 

    In addition to his role at Preponderant, Templar co-chairs the Advisory Council for “The Age of Africa Annual Symposium” at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Under his leadership, “The Age of Africa Annual Symposium” has become a premier platform for fostering dialogue and strengthening ties between Canadian and African markets. Renowned for its high-level approach, “The Age of Africa Annual Symposium” attracts influential decision-makers from government and private sectors, as well as thought leaders from both regions. Templar has positioned the Symposium as the foremost nonpartisan forum dedicated to forging cross-sector partnerships that address the challenges and opportunities between Canada and Africa. 

    Templar also serves as the Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for African Affairs and Policy Research, a Toronto-based think tank. In this role, he leads the organization in building extensive networks with key players in the private and public sectors, elevating its profile as a leading think tank dedicated to advancing strategic integration between Canadian and African markets. He shapes the Centre's strategic direction by cultivating partnerships, particularly with senior government officials and executives from prominent organizations in both regions. Under his leadership, the Centre supports high-level public and private gatherings, conducts

  • Director, Strategy & Research, TransAlliance Group. TransAlliance Group is a conglomerate with vested interest in multiple industries across Africa.

    Afam has over a decade’s worth of experience in Business Development, Strategy and Innovative thinking through his work in organizations like Jumia Nigeria, the largest e-commerce startup in Africa and Sujimoto, a leading luxury real estate company in Nigeria. He has also consulted for businesses such as STERN Projects, Adiba, VC Premium Limited.

    Experiences such as these has provided him with the ability to provide solutions to challenges and identify opportunities that exist in business. It has also equipped him with the necessary techniques required to drive growth and success even in the most challenging situations.

  • Lefang is the founder & CEO of Kasi Insight, Africa’s leading decision intelligence company empowering business leaders and entrepreneurs to make crucial decisions with confidence. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency survey capability with the latest advancements in statistics, data analytics and storytelling to inform better decisions on what Africans think, do and why.

    The company works with leading brands in FMCG, Food & Beverages, Banking and Personal Care in addition to the world’s largest foundations and financial data companies.

    Prior to starting Kasi, Yannick had over 15 years of experience in banking in North African and Africa. He is an engineer by training, banker by profession and a researcher by passion. He considers himself an unlikely researcher but passionate about African-based data and winning in Africa.

    Yannick is a winner of several research awards including best research paper award by MSRA (Kenya), Quartz Africa Innovator award (Nigeria), GRIT Future List Nominee (US).

SENIOR CONSULTANTS

  • Senior ICT and Innovation Specialist at the African Development Bank 

    Michael is a passionate individual who works across the intersections of education, technology and the entrepreneurship ecosystem and is excited about work that improves the quality of lives of people.

    He currently works as a Senior ICT and Innovation specialist at the African Development Bank where he leads several projects on improving access to education and enhancing delivery of vocational and technical skills in the Southern African region. Prior to that he led implementation of a digital skills initiative across 5 pilot countries and enjoys designing impactful programs, policy dialogues and high level stakeholder engagement.

    He enjoys working on fun complex projects and has managed various programs at community, country and regional levels for international organizations.

    He also volunteers as an entrepreneurship mentor for Seedstars Global and a global speaker on digital skilling, job creation and building sustainable businesses with an inclusive mindset.

  • Martin has a background in venture capital and private equity and he brings over nine years of rich experience in business strategy and operational execution.

    Martin has developed strong execution and operations experience, having worked at Jumia, the largest e-commerce startup in Africa, and at Verod Capital, a leading West Africa-focused private equity fund. He has strong value add in both the capital raising side of the business as well as the execution side of things from his time in both the VC and start-up management.