Michael Turner says; “I was born in the Serengeti National Park. Joining Actis was my chance to return to Africa and give something back.”
Raised in Tanzania, Michael left Africa to pursue his education and early career. He gained a first class degree in Civil Engineering from Southampton University and began his working life at PricewaterhouseCoopers, followed by three years of investment banking in London with Lehman Brothers and Kleinwort Benson.
But he always wanted to make the return journey to Africa and use his professional skills to contribute to the country’s economic and social development. So in 1988 he joined CDC as an investor focused on Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
Based in Nairobi, he now represents Actis in East Africa and has been instrumental in some of Actis’ key successes on the continent including the launch of the Acacia Fund, the first private equity fund in Kenya and investments in Flamingo, Banque Commerciale du Rwanda, Grain Bulk Handlers Limited and DFCU. He is also responsible for Actis’ agribusiness investments. More than two decades on, his philosophy remains the same: to build the businesses that deliver positive change to the markets they’re part of and the people they serve.
