who we are
Savo is a boutique investment and project development company working with investors and businesses to build a portfolio of sustainable companies across Africa.
In this "make or break" decade, more capital is being deployed to ESG and SDG aligned investment than ever before. Yet, despite the clear commercial case for sustainable business, the inability of capital to find viable projects is a system failure. Savo's mission is to close this gap.
By 2030, we aim to support the deployment of USD 1.5 billion, unlock 1 million jobs and reduce or remove 10 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.
meet the team
We are a lean and agile team, combining global and local experience, with a demonstrated track record and flexible deployment model. Incubated by SYSTEMIQ, Savo retains a strong partnership model. We work with leading experts and technical partners across the fields of sustainability, engineering, and investment.
Gail Klintworth
Chairman & Founder
Gail brings senior leadership and vast industry expertise to Savo. Gail currently serves as NED of Tiger Brands, 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.
Chris Klintworth
COO & Founder
Chris is experienced in running teams across a range of project types, including real estate, manufacturing and sustainable land use. He specialises in strategy, process management, partnerships, and deal making. Chris is co-founder and the COO at Savo, leading Savo’s global operations and East African pipeline and bringing commercial, project management, and supply chain expertise to Savo’s clients. Before Savo, Chris worked in microinsurance, FMCG, consulting, and project development across emerging markets.
Robert Ward
Project Development Consultant
Robert is an experienced real estate developer with over 15 years’ hands-on experience working in senior management roles. Prior to working with Savo, Robert was Managing Director of Oserian Two Lakes – a 20,000-acre mixed-use development in Kenya with industrial, commercial, residential, and hospitality nodes of development. He was also CEO of Vipingo Ridge, a 2,500-acre residential and golfing estate in Kenya. He oversaw design teams, developed infrastructure, managed sales and oversaw all aspects of day-to-day operations.
Amy Jadesimi
board director
Amy is 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.
Ade Okuwoga
Founder
Ade brings commercial, technical and entrepreneurial expertise to Savo and is currently an MBA Candidate at Harvard Business School. Previously, Ade led SYSTEMIQ’s project development team in Ethiopia, worked in strategy with McKinsey & Company, in Oil and Gas Strategy with Chevron in Nigeria and at the UN Industrial Energy Efficiency in Vienna. Ade holds a Master’s in Sustainable Energy from Imperial College London and a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from University College London.
Alexandra Esteve Santos
Associate
Alexandra brings financial expertise to the team, supporting Savo with deal origination, investment structuring, preparation and execution. Prior to joining Savo, Alexandra was an Associate at Rothschild & Co Infrastructure M&A and Debt Advisory team. She is a board member of a “farm to skin” sustainable beauty brand in Mexico and a trustee for Fabretto UK, a charity supporting the education of children in Nicaragua. Alexandra holds a BSc in Economics and Economic History from the LSE.
Robbie Marwick
CEO & Founder
Robbie has a background in investment, clean-tech start-ups, economic development, human rights and latterly as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. As an investor, he has covered Africa for a US$ 50 billion public equity fund. As one of SYSTEMIQ’s first employees, he helped grow the company from 5 to 200 people over 4 years. As Savo’s CEO, Robbie executed over US$ 75 million of transaction in less than 2 years, and overseas Savo’s deal pipeline.
Yomi Aleshe
Project Manager
Yomi brings commercial and operational expertise to Savo and develops projects, builds pipelines and launches ventures across West & Central Africa. Prior to joining Savo, Yomi was a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in London, where he led large scale transformational programmes across a range of sectors including energy and utilities and retail and consumer. Yomi grew up and was educated in West Africa and the United Kingdom. He holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London.
Aditya Sheth
associate
Aditya brings commercial and transaction acumen to Savo. He has developed a career in supporting early-stage opportunities in emerging markets to access impact capital and investors to find these opportunities. At Lion’s Head Global Partners, he led the investment process for various deals across Africa. At Ernst and Young (EY), Aditya advised private equity clients on potential investments and led teams to conduct due diligence. Prior to Savo, Lion’s Head Global Partners and EY, Aditya was Senior Audit Assistant at Deloitte.