Sao Foundation

Nurture, Develop & Sustain

and provide them with the opportunity to make a difference in their communities

About us

The Sao Foundation is a UK registered charity organization (Registration No. 1179682) that recognizes the challenges faced by youth in communities throughout the world and seeks to provide financial and mentorship support to enable the development of young people.

The Foundation’s focus is to empower youth to become self-sufficient by providing financial support to access quality education, funding the provision of world class healthcare and health services and supporting the development of art and young artists through the funding of art projects and providing materials for the creation of artistic media.

The Foundation is committed to improving the lives of our youth by equipping them with a broad set of tools – to nurture, develop and sustain them as well and provide them with the opportunity to make a difference in their communities.

Empower youth to become more self-sufficient by providing financial support

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Mission

We are committed to improving the lives of our youth by equipping them with a broad set of tools – to nurture, develop and sustain them as well and provide them with the opportunity to make a difference in their communities.

Education

Power of education to eradicate poverty and tackle inequalities in most communities

Healthcare

Provide relief of sickness and the preservation of mental and physical health to the youth

Arts

Promote the development of young/emerging artists by identifying, honouring and nurturing artists with great potential

Board of Trustees

  • Nana Sao has a 20-year track record in finance and investment banking having previously worked at DMC partners, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.
  • Nana was a Partner and Head of Africa private equity at DMC Partner, an investment firm focused on selected emerging markets globally, with a strong focus on Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, and Kenya. Prior to this, Nana was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs International, where he spent 7 years in London and Johannesburg and also a member of Goldman Sachs Global Merger Leadership Group.
  • Nana is the founder of Africa Capitalworks
  • Nana serves as a member of the fundraising committee for the Great Ormond Street Hospital and is an advisory board member for the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.
  • Dr. Timi Austen-Peters serves as Chairman at Dorman Long Engineering Limited since July 2014. He is a specialist financial services lawyer, with local and international experience.
  • Dr. Austen-Peters has worked as a lawyer for the United Nations in Geneva and for a leading commercial law firm in Lagos. He was a Legal Consultant to the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
  • Dr. Timi Austen-Peters is a Notary Public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has worked as a Barrister and Solicitor in various jurisdictions. He specializes in the management and regulation of investment assets, and has presented and authored many writings including an authority on the custody of financial assets.
  • Dr. Timi Austen-Peters has a D.Phil from Pembroke College Oxford.
  • Deen Bakare is a seasoned M&A professional with over 15 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, and corporate M&A. Proven track record in leading high-value transactions, structuring complex deal terms, and delivering strategic insights to drive value creation.
  • Having previously worked at Jefferies LLC. During his tenure in the Global Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Jefferies LLC in London, Deen was involved in over 20 completed public and private M&A transactions across EMEA in a wide range of sectors most notable; TMT, Healthcare, Natural Resources and Energy sectors.
  • Deen is currently a founding partner at Network VC and a director at GAMB Consulting.
  • Deen holds an MEng (with Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London.
  • William’s investment career spans over a period of 19 years, having previously worked at UBS Investment Bank, JP Morgan, and BNP Paribas, before embarking on quest to establish himself as a Hedge Fund Manager. He was a partner at Langa Group, a principal private equity firm for a period of 4 years. During this period, he was involved in a few big transactions including, Consol and Total SA.
  • William has spent the last 5 years co-managing 3 Hedge Funds, as well as various structured investment portfolios and a global fund.
  • William holds a B Comm Degree from Rhodes University.
  • Botsang Morobe is an investment professional and has over 8 years of collective experience in corporate finance and private equity. Botsang currently works at the Public Investment Corporation where she focuses on private equity transactions on the African continent.
  • Botsang serves as a sessional lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand where she teaches business finance.
  • Botsang also serves as a director of the His Hands and Feet Movement, a charity organization established in South Africa.

Our Projects

Our initiatives are aimed at improving the lives and circumstances of youth through access to quality education, healthcare services, and visual arts. The following are the Foundation’s current charitable partnerships and projects.

Contact Us

Address: Berkeley Suite 34 Berkeley Square Mayfair London W1J 5BF. T

T: +44 (0) 203 697 9395 | E: info@thesaofoundation.org

© 2021 Sao Foundation. All rights reserved.