Zimbabwean-born CEO takes African Equity Empowerment Investments to new heights

It also helps that I’m not a stranger to AEEI because during my years as an auditor clerk and auditor manager, AEEI was my client as well By Simone Sribrath Valentine Dzvova, the CEO of African Equity Empowerment Investments, strategically navigated rough waters when Covid hit leading to financial growth at a challenging time. African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), a fully black-owned and black-controlled investment company situated in southern Africa, faced a turbulent last quarter, but despite this, is probably one of the few in a pandemic-stricken continent that has managed to grow by 44%. The captain at its helm, Valentine Dzvova, reveals that the strength of the company, majorly focusing on fishing and IT, has been the diversity of its portfolio. “Having diversity is absolutely vital to weather any storm, with the most recent example being the storm brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Dzvova. Dzvova - from humble beginnings in Zimbabwe - saw her career scale new heights when she was made Chief Executive Officer of AEEI last year. Having come in when interim results were due and the company’s Chief Financial Officer was leaving, Dzvova dove straight in at the deep end. “It also helps