Henri Zietsman
Henri Zietsman, based in Cape Town, is the AWS Startup/Venture Capital Business Development Manager. His diverse background as a former startup founder and entrepreneur in the Fintech sector brings a wealth of experience in angel investing, venture capital, and industry knowledge, complemented by his work in 23 African countries.
Prior to his current role, Zietsman held key leadership positions at global telecommunications vendor firms in Africa, including executive roles in key account management, sales, and country management. He has been instrumental in building data centers, launching the first mobile TV service, and introducing prepaid services for mobile and fixed telecom operators regionally.
With over two decades of experience in developing scalable solutions for the African market, Zietsman possesses comprehensive expertise spanning startups, governments, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications, fintech, and scale-up best practices. His areas of expertise include MVP building, investment, due diligence, pitching, sales, and regional media strategies. Zietsman holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree and is an active panelist, speaker, and mentor supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. He mentors at “Startup Wise Guise,” “Unleash.org,” and serves on selection panels for accelerators, including “Startup Bootcamp.” In his own words, “I believe Africa is not one thing, and each community, country, city will accelerate and scale at their own pace, but I will do my part to make this a success. I am driven to support founders, be it in Venture or in Impact.”
