Andy Kawa's Biography

Andy Kawa – Businesswoman and social entrepreneur

Andy holds an MBA in Finance from Wharton School Business (USA), an EdM from Columbia University (USA) and a BSc in Applied Math from the University of Transkei.

She is chairperson and founding member of Chuma Holdings, a women-led investment company with interests in platinum mining. Her work over the years has focused on finance, business strategy and transformation. She has more than 18 years of extensive corporate experience locally, and in the USA and the UK. She has worked in strategy development in the industrial, mining and financial services sectors. In 2007, Andy was a runner up as ‘Top Executive Management Committee Member’ in the TOPCO awards, while serving as director of business transformation at Aquarius Platinum South Africa (AQPSA).

In 2010 she was selected as one of the 20 businesswomen in South Africa to participate in ‘The Chosen’, 2010 MTN Business Leading CEO Council. She is also chairperson of Interwaste Holdings and serves on the boards of Anglovaal Industries (AVI), AQPSA and Imara Capital South Africa (ICSA). In addition to her business interests, Andy plays a significant role in social development. She is a trustee of the Chuma Foundation, the beneficiaries of which are youth development projects. She has a keen interest in education and youth development, and currently provides mentorship to six young people.

Andy is also involved in advocacy work against rape and sexual violence in South Africa. One of these initiatives was working with the office of the Executive Deputy Mayor and other stakeholders to address the issue of violent crimes committed in Port Elizabeth’s Kings Beach area. As a result, the Mandela Bay Development Agency committed R40m for safety and security upgrades at Kings Beach in the Mandela Bay Municipality of Port Elizabeth. This upgrade, the first phase of which was completed in 2012, is dedicated to Andy’s resilience in lobbying to improve safety and security on the beach.