Cover Story: Malesela Montja CA(SA) – Capital follows confidence

Across Southern Africa and the wider continent, infrastructure has become one of the clearest tests of investment quality. In South Africa, the World Bank has linked infrastructure constraints to an estimated 3% loss of growth in 2023, with rail and port inefficiencies reducing exports by around 20%. The pressure is visible in specific sectors. The automotive industry exported 68,7% of local vehicle production in 2024, while port delays, customs inefficiencies and road congestion continue to affect OEMs’ ability to meet export schedules. Water is becoming an equally material risk, with the OECD warning that municipalities often lack the resources to provide water services and maintain water infrastructure, while climate change will place further strain on water supply, Digital infrastructure now carries the same strategic weight, with the DBSA estimating that South Africa needs R108 billion to R142 billion, in 2025 real terms, to connect all households to high-speed broadband by 2035.

This is the context in which Malesela Montja CA(SA), Associate Principal, Africa Infrastructure Finance, Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking division, thinks about investment. His experience spans investment banking, corporate finance, fintech and public-sector transactions, with exposure to water, rail, ports, logistics and digital infrastructure. He began his career at Deloitte, later worked at Discovery and Deloitte Corporate Finance, and joined Nedbank in 2014. He stepped out of banking during the COVID years to work in fintech before returning to investment banking.

‘Impactful investment means deploying capital in a way that produces measurable, durable benefits beyond the financial return,’ he says. ‘In practice, that means asking whether the investment improves access, productivity, resilience, affordability or inclusion in a way that can be sustained over time.’

For Montja, the keywords are measurable and sustained. The market is familiar with projects that use the language of impact. They speak about transformation, sustainability, inclusion and community benefit. Those claims carry weight only when they can be linked to outcomes.

In infrastructure, the outcomes are usually concrete, and the investment has to continue delivering – homes connected to potable water, businesses with reliable access to logistics corridors, jobs created, operating costs lowered, emissions reduced, communities gaining access to digital or financial services.

‘True impact must be measurable, bankable, affordable and institutionally sustainable,’ he says.

In African infrastructure, strong economic or social need does not make a project bankable.

Instead, a bankable project needs credible legal, technical, contractual and financial structures. It needs realistic demand assumptions, a clear revenue model, enforceable agreements, capable sponsors, permits in place, a resilient funding structure, and an operating model that can sustain operations after construction.

‘The biggest gap is often preparation,’ he says. ‘Capital is available for well-structured projects, but many projects reach investors too early, without enough certainty around revenue, cost, implementation risk or government support.’

This is a recurring problem. A project can be necessary, strategically sound and economically important, but still not ready for private capital. Feasibility, procurement, approvals, offtake and risk allocation may still be incomplete. Some projects approach commercial funders before the case has been structured for private capital, or before blended finance, public-sector support or development finance has been secured.

Montja points to an Africa Finance Corporation 2025 estimate of a USD4 trillion capital pool from African-domiciled financiers, including commercial banks and institutional investors. African capital can play a larger role in African infrastructure, provided projects are structured so that banks, pension funds, DFIs and institutional investors can participate.

This is more urgent as external funding becomes exposed to sanctions, geopolitical shifts and changing risk appetite. Local and regional capital is available, but it needs bankable projects, policy certainty and credible execution.

‘Capital follows confidence,’ says Montja. ‘Confidence depends on stable policy, workable procurement, clear risk allocation and credible institutions. When policy is rigid, or government and private capital are not properly aligned, this slows down execution. Uncertainty around tariffs, offtake, regulation or dispute resolution makes even strong projects difficult to fund.’

Risk allocation is central to the funding model. Montja’s view is that each risk should be carried by the party best placed to manage it. Government has an important role in creating a stable policy, regulatory and procurement environment. It may also need to provide targeted support for risks that private capital cannot price efficiently, including political, regulatory, land and some demand-related risks.

Development finance institutions can provide patient capital, guarantees, concessional funding, technical assistance and early-stage project preparation support. Multilaterals such as Afreximbank and the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency can reduce risk in complex transactions. Private investors can then take commercial, operational and financial risk where it is clear, understood and properly priced.

The objective is to make projects investable while protecting public value. That often requires blended structures, where public or concessional capital absorbs specific constraints and creates room for institutional and commercial capital to participate at scale.

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Water is a constitutional right and a social good, but delivery still depends on capital, maintenance, reliable operations and service quality. Tariffs are often not cost reflective, vulnerable users may need targeted support, and industrial and commercial users need reliable supply. For investors, the funding case still requires enough certainty to support long-term capital.

Montja is currently involved in a major water project whose details remain confidential. He describes it as a first-of-its-kind funding structure that brings together government, commercial funders, a DFI, impact funds and industrial players. The project is centred on a water-scarce community and reflects the kind of collaboration required when infrastructure has to balance public value, affordability and commercial discipline.

Logistics requires the same level of discipline. Port inefficiencies, rail underperformance and road congestion affect exports, imports and regional trade. Montja sees logistics moving higher up the investment agenda, particularly as freight shifts from rail to road, adding cost and congestion. With the right structures behind current reforms, he expects more freight to move back to rail over the next few years, with a direct effect on efficiency and GDP growth.

He also expects private capital to play a larger role in sectors historically led by government. This is not about replacing the state. It is about enabling delivery, with government, DFIs, multilaterals and commercial institutions each taking a defined role.

Projects that create long-term value usually have the same foundations: real demand, strong governance, disciplined execution, institutional ownership and a clear operating model. They solve a genuine constraint and are designed around the end user, whether that is a municipality, household, commuter, business or industrial customer.

Assets that become costly or underused often show the warning signs early. Demand analysis is thin, affordability assumptions are unrealistic, stakeholder alignment is weak, or maintenance planning is inadequate. In some cases, the asset is built, but the tariff framework, operating model or institutional capacity cannot sustain it over time.

‘A good infrastructure project continues to deliver economic and social value over its life,’ Montja says.

THE NEXT PHASE OF FINTECH

Fintech has expanded access, lowered transaction costs, improved payment convenience, enabled digital lending and helped small businesses through faster onboarding and alternative
data. In markets with limited traditional banking infrastructure, mobile money and digital payments have given more people and businesses a first route into the formal financial system.

Montja is, however, careful about how inclusion is measured. ‘Access to an app is not the same as meaningful financial inclusion,’ he notes. ‘Customers can still face high costs, opaque terms, limited recourse, weak data protection, or products that do little to improve long-term financial health.’

The next phase of fintech must be assessed by whether it improves resilience, savings, responsible access to credit, and productive economic participation. That principle applies to digital infrastructure more broadly. Adoption numbers are useful, but they do not prove long-term value. The stronger test is whether the investment improves access, affordability and economic participation.

The continental opportunity depends on integration. Montja argues that Africa needs greater harmonisation of regulations, stronger regional infrastructure, deeper local capital markets and more predictable cross-border trade and investment frameworks. Investors need certainty regarding rules, currency convertibility, taxation, dispute resolution, and capital repatriation.

Regional trade depends on both physical and digital infrastructure. Roads, rail, ports, power pools and fibre networks move goods, energy and data across borders. Interoperable payment systems, digital identity, data governance and financial market infrastructure make it easier for capital and services to move with them. The African Continental Free Trade Area provides the platform, but its value will depend on implementation and whether it reduces friction in practice.

Montja also places significant weight on leadership and governance. His work across banking, corporate finance, fintech and public-sector transactions has reinforced his view that execution risk is closely linked to the quality of people and decision-making behind a project.

He looks for leadership teams that are ‘transparent, realistic and accountable’. He also assesses whether they understand the risks, whether governance structures allow timely decisions, and whether there is a credible plan to manage complexity once a transaction moves
from strategy to implementation.

In infrastructure, weak governance often manifests as delays, unclear accountability, shifting assumptions, and poor stakeholder management. Technical analysis remains essential, but judgement, discipline and conduct under pressure are just as important to delivery.

That same view informs the way Montja thinks about people, ethics, and inclusion. He sees mentorship and inclusion as investments because they build future capability. Ethics protects trust, reputation and decision quality. Leaders, he argues, should be assessed on financial performance, retention, promotion pathways, skills development, mentorship outcomes, ethical conduct, and the culture they create.

‘The most important thing to remember is that capital follows well-prepared, well-governed projects,’ he says. ‘Partnerships between the public and private sectors are essential to unlocking infrastructure investment. The role of private and capital markets is to match capital with execution, enabling projects to move “from concept to delivery”. Africa’s infrastructure opportunity will depend on preparation, credible governance and the ability of institutions to turn funding into assets that perform over time.’

Author
Monique Verduyn