Our Woman Crush Wednesday, Musopelo Mwanda is an exceptional business leader. She is a financial analyst and sustainability specialist with several years of experience in research, analysis, and impact investing. Having graduated from the University of Adelaide specialising in Corporate Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and International Business, her passion lies in financial return and social impact.
Knowing that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are big employers of labour in Africa, Musopelo focuses on early-stage businesses. Since she founded the financial and sustainability advisory firm, Opelo Capital in 2020, Musopelo has supported early-stage businesses in Africa with the right ecosystem of investors and policymakers. She is also a Partner at Route3 Solar Systems, a start-up focused on clean energy solutions.
Musopelo is a problem solver, one that firmly believes that the solutions to Africa’s challenges are in Africa. Her convictions stem from the interactions she has had with early-stage businesses that are changing and challenging the status quo in their markets.
From its inception, Opelo Capital has worked with Zambian start-ups in microfinance, clean energy, media, retail, and manufacturing. The firm assists these start-ups with market research, financial modelling, impact assessment and business development services. Opelo Capital complements the assistance that start-ups receive from accelerators and incubators with advisory services that are affordable and long-term, providing comprehensive tools and management support to aid business survival and improve performance over time.
Musopelo’s passion for Africa’s development drives her to seek growth from the grassroots level to a much larger scale. She achieves this by participating in discussion forums for entrepreneurs, as well as providing insights at various conferences. Some of these platforms include the African Union Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (AU-PIDA), Prospero Zambia’s Impact Investing Roadshow, and the Global Private Equity Meeting by Carmo Companies, New York.
Musopelo has long-term goals of expanding advisory services to SMEs in the rest of Africa, alongside increasing their access to finance and institutional investors. This great initiative makes her a great role model who is worthy of celebration. We could not have had a better Woman Crush Wednesday other than Musopelo this day.