Ester Bortot is a  Zambian-born Director at Elea. She is part of the investment team with a regional focus on Africa and plays a key role in our pipeline, due diligence, and value creation activities.

Furthermore, she supports the continued development of our hub and its contribution to elea’s overall goals. Ester joined the global elea team in September 2024 and is based in the elea Africa Hub in Johannesburg. With an active portfolio of more than 40 impact ventures, elea’s work has had a positive impact on the lives of more than 60 million people.

elea is a pioneer in philanthropic impact investing. Founded in 2006, around the time the term “impact investing” was coined, elea deploys patient capital and strategic support to early-stage ventures fighting absolute poverty across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Ester currently represents elea on the board of MazaoHub.

Prior to joining elea, Ester worked for a series of mission-driven start-ups in Africa and the UK across industries, including regenerative agriculture, nutrient up-cycling, and techbio. She began her career in the financial services industry in London, gaining professional experience at Renaissance Capital, HSBC, and Rothschild & Co.

Ester holds an MSc in African Development from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics & Finance from the University of Durham.