Blessing Rugara
Blessing Rugara is a Zimbabwean lawyer and entrepreneur. In December 2021, Rugara was appointed chairman of the nine-member ZIFA Restructuring Committee by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).
Education
Blessing Rugara received his BA in Psychology from the University of Manitoba and served as Student Union President. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School which he attended on a Royal Stone Scholarship and served on the Audit Committee of the Board of Regents.[1]
Career
Rugara is the founder and CEO of the Mauritius based investment firm Circle Capital Global. He was a partner at Mackall, Crounse and Moore corporate law practice group. Blessing Rugara has served as Senior Advisor to Heads of State and Government as well as advising large entities in private equity transactions across Africa.
In March 2021, Rugara joined the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) Board of Directors.[2]
Prior to founding Circle Capital Global, Blessing Rugara was a Partner in the Corporate Finance department of a large US-based law firm.
Rugara was part of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) board announced by the then Information Minister Jonathan Moyo in February 2014.[3]
Positions Held
- Board member for the Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship (2015 - 2019) Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Boston Massachusetts. USA - where he served as a representative and catalyst for the Centre in Africa advising current fellows. Identifying and recruiting new fellows.
- Board member for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Harare Zimbabwe 2014-2016, Chair of the Audit and Ethics Committee - Chair Finance Committee.
- Board member for Circle Capital Global Holdings. Johannesburg South Africa.
- He has also served on the Board of several related companies and special purpose vehicles established to hold interests in Financial Services, Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure, Mining and Agriculture.
His notable achievements include being the Senior Advisor to former Heads of State and Government established by President Nelson Mandela of South Africa and President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique. Developed conceptual framework and strategic plan for the Harmonization of African Societies Protect. which utilized former national leaders to support the social, economic and political transformation of nine African countries emerging from conflicts to building capable states.
Through his company, Blessing Rugara has led several advisory roles in public sector engagements where his organisation is hired to act as corporate finance or strategic advisor on behalf of government departments and state-owned enterprises. Notable advisory roles included being:
- Advisor to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises) on the redevelopment of With International Airport
- Advisor to the Government of Angola (Ministry of Tourism) on the construction of 57 hotels for the Ministry of Tourism
- Advisor to the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe on capital raising and debt structuring
- Conceptualized and led an initiative to create electronic Notaries for former African Presidents.
Blessing Rugara has also led key private sector engagements as corporate finance advisor or counterparty to leading global financial institutions including Citi, JP Morgan and Capitec.[4]
References
- ↑ Our Team, cicapglobal.com, Published: No Date Given, Retrieved: December 20, 2021
- ↑ Blessing Rugara Joins Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Board of Directors, pedaids.org, Published: March 30, 2021, Retrieved: December 20, 2021
- ↑ Tichaona Sibanda, New ZBC board chairman embroiled in ‘salarygate’, Nehanda Radio, Published: February 17, 2014, Retrieved: December 20, 2021
- ↑ SRC Zimbabwe, Twitter, Published: December 17, 2021, Retrieved: December 20, 2021
