Gerrit has 20 years of investment experience, of which 15 years include experience in investing across 13 different Sub-Saharan African markets. Gerrit is known for his in-depth knowledge of the financial services sector in Sub-Saharan African. He is one of the founding members of Arise, a USD 1 billion long term focused financial sector investment firm. Gerrit was involved in the acquisition of financial services investments in Kenya, Ghana, Togo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. He has fulfilled various senior leadership roles and has served on a few Boards in sub-Saharan Africa. Successes to date have been achieved through a willingness to seek challenges, strong interpersonal skills, openness to understand different points of view, desire to make a difference and deeply rooted values.