About Rabia

Rabia name embodies the spiritual legacy of Rabia Aladawia, who taught of love, compassion, and oneness. The name also represents rage (Spanish meaning), alluding to the dissatisfaction with deepening injustices, and our passion and focus to address these. Our name carries the vision of ushering in a fresh approach and role for finance (Spring, its Arabic meaning). These spiritual essences inspire Rabia’s work, which was founded based on guidance from the founder’s spiritual teacher of need for caring and sharing amidst the multiple challenges the world is facing.

Founding Director and ex-banker Dr. Chantal Naidoo has drawn on her experience from more than 25 years in investment banking, development finance, and climate finance to assemble an international team and network of partners.

Rabia's advisors and senior associates bring expertise in crafting national and global climate change policies, negotiating energy-focused development finance loans, and analysing physical and transition risks to offer bespoke research. Our analysts have unique skills in financial analysis and impact investment, energy and environmental law, and geospatial mapping of physical and biodiversity risks.

Our work culminates in developing bespoke financial policy proposals, financing mechanisms for transitions, as well as building implementation and response capabilities of the institutions engaged.

We are passionate about navigating the uncharted waters of a financial ecosystem in transition. We do so with intentionality, integrity, courage, an openness to learning, and — above all — care for the future. We believe each person and institution can and should contribute towards a new era of existence, built on love and compassion, our interconnectedness to each other and to creation.

Dr Dhanasagran Naidoo holds a B. Paed from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Bachelor of Education, and a master’s in education from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He earned his PhD in Curriculum Studies from Stellenbosch University and a qualification in Leading in a Digital Economy from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education strategy formulation and execution, institutional intelligence, digital ecosystems, decision support and combined assurance. Dr Naidoo has held executive positions at the Tshwane University of Technology and the New Zealand Tertiary College. He has been on the Ministerially appointed Administrator’s Team at the Mangosuthu University of University. As the Senior Director of Institutional Research and Academic Planning at the University of the Free State, he oversees strategic planning, institutional research, monitoring, evaluation and reporting, as well as quality assurance and academic planning.

Vikas Mehta is the Founding Executive Director of the SED Fund. The SED Fund enhances clean energy access in South Asia through strategic support and funding to communities, think tanks and enterprises. As Executive Director, Vikas manages new portfolio and capacity development, and global strategic initiatives for the Fund.

Kamleshan Pillay is the director of Adaptive Management and Finance, a specialist consultancy focused on climate finance based in South Africa. During his career, Kamleshan has had the opportunity to undertake climate change projects for the South African government (Department of Environmental Affairs), the Norwegian Government (Climate and Environment Department (KLD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs), International Organizations such as UNIDO, SADC, UNDP, and major donor entities such as NORAD, IKI and the IDRC. Kamleshan holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and is currently completing his PhD specialising in Climate Risk and Adaptation Finance from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Kim Adonis is an economist that has worked as a trusted advisor to governments, regulators, companies and donors for 18 years. Kim is a passionate advocate for socio-economic development in Africa, and for the development of the economics profession in South Africa. Kim specialises in quantifying socio-economic impact in a range of sectors, including: energy, water & sanitation, transport, logistics, urban & built environment, aviation, oil & gas sectors, agriculture & agribusiness, manufacturing. She has worked on projects across 10 countries in Africa. She holds a Master’s degree in economics and is the Executive Secretary of the Economics Society of South Africa.

Matt Huxham is a Director of Climate Transition Analytics at global insurance broking and consulting firm WTW. Matt works with Rabia to support public sector partners in the SADC region on issues of climate transition risk, macroeconomics, and financial regulation. At WTW, he leads a consulting practice that provides advice to governments, central banks, and financial supervisors on climate risk. Matt’s team helps its clients identify, measure, and manage transition issues: at local level, within national economic and financial systems and in international trade and geopolitics. He is currently working with clients in Latin America, Africa and South-East Asia. Prior to joining WTW, Matt was a Principal at leading climate non-profit Climate Policy Initiative, leading research on policy, regulatory, and financing options for lowering the cost of decarbonising electricity and industrial sectors. By training, Matt is a trained accountant and credit risk specialist, with previous roles at Moody’s Investors Service and Royal Bank of Scotland. He was also a senior adviser to the UK government on electricity market reform. Matt holds an MA (Oxon) in Russian and Linguistics from the University of Oxford and an MA in Modern History from University College London.

Penny Winton has wide-ranging experience in development, climate, project finance, and the energy sector. She has over 40 years of experience, largely in the public utility energy sector (Eskom Treasury), where her expertise, amongst others, covers money and bond markets (local and international), interest and foreign exchange risk management, governance, financing, and private sector de-risking instruments. She led negotiations in excess of 7bn whilst at Eskom. She was a member of the 1^st accreditation panel of the Green Climate Fund, working on the accreditation framework and accreditation of public and private entities. Penny worked as an independent member of the Presidential Task Team on Climate Finance. She currently represents SANEA as an observer to the Climate Investment Fund. She hopes to facilitate an improved understanding of what constitutes public versus private finance and associated de-risking mechanisms and to encourage conversations on the financial ecosystems the world needs to shift to a more just and inclusive society.

Pierre Monnin is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and a Visiting Professor in Practice at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in the London School of Economics and Political Science. His work focuses on monetary policy, financial regulation, and their links with environmental and social sustainability. Prior to that, he was with the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in various roles for ten years – with a focus on financial stability and macroprudential policy as well as on financial markets developments. He also worked at Man Investments, developing asset allocation strategies for alternative investments, and was a Lecturer in international money and finance at the University of Neuchatel. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich, a MSc in Economics from Queen Mary, University of London, as well as a MSc in Statistics and a BA in Economics from the University of Neuchatel.