Jerome Lengkeek
President and Co-founder
Jerome acts as the fund manager for Fourth Watch’s current portfolio of investments. Jerome also provides the link between investors and investments, and is the key point of contact in the delivery of Fourth Watch Global Analytics’ transaction assistance and investment monitoring services.
 Jerome’s first career in banking spanned nearly two decades in progressively more senior roles helping cooperative financial institutions such as the Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec and Coast Capital Savings to expand their operations in Western Canada. His key activities included development of innovative financial products, qualitative and quantitative research, over ten years of market analytics, and relationship management.
In 2009, Jerome stepped out of his banking career to redirect into social finance. Building on a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Diploma of Technology in Marketing Management, he moved to Cape Town, South Africa where he completed a Masters Degree in Development Finance at the University of Stellenbosch. His masters thesis research examined the financing mechanisms available to social enterprises in South Africa. Jerome’s first major project in this new career phase was to develop a life-cycle calculator that proved the long-term cost effectiveness of environmentally superior building technologies in social housing. This project was completed for the Sustainability Institute’s Sustainable Communities Support Program and Jerome promoted its use through presentations at workshops, conferences, and guest lectures.
Since co-founding Fourth Watch African Investments with Derek Hoogstra in 2012, Jerome has spent a considerable amount of time in Zambia on deal sourcing work which led to the formation of Diligence Limestone and the partnership in ZamCan Farms, as well as other ventures which have not yet been funded. The Fourth Watch Investments are managed as an LP revolving private equity fund.
In 2013 Jerome continued his education by attending the Impact Investing Programme at the Said Business School of Oxford University. This programme solidified the desire of him and his co-founder to structure their investments as impact investments, focussing on the triple bottom line return against financial, social, and environmental goals.
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Derek Hoogstra
Co-founder
Derek is the co-founder of Fourth Watch African Investments Ltd and has been active in the social impact investment sphere since January 2013. The owner of a thriving wholesale import company supplying the luxury hospitality market in Western Canada, Derek has always had a deep curiosity of investing in other businesses whether its taking positions in publicly traded companies or private investments in small firms.
 Derek began investing in the early 90’s in such concerns and since then he has been fortunate enough to spin out a successful portfolio mix of traditional investments in public and private companies and commercial real estate. Since becoming involved with private equity investments focused on social impact, Derek has realized the exciting world of what he likes to call “upvestment” wherein he levers a portion of his investment portfolio to generate positive social change.
Derek has seen first-hand the tremendous potential for growth in Africa in the coming decades, and also sees the power of private investment capital to uplift communities and drive economic growth and social progress. |
