Why I Said Yes to YES! Summit 2025
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Layton Nenzinane – Chief Financial Officer, Seriti Green Chartered Accountant | A Voice for Africa’s Just Energy Transition
I grew up in a modest home in Thaba Nchu, a town just outside Bloemfontein in the Free State, as the youngest in a medium-sized family with two older siblings. I was surrounded by love, discipline and hope. But life changed quickly. I lost my mother at six and my father at thirteen. Orphanhood wasn’t just a title, it was a reality that forced me to grow up fast, to adapt, and to find strength where most find sorrow. That loss gave me something I couldn’t have understood at the time: the ability to see change as possible, to pivot when needed, and to hold onto vision in the face of vulnerability.
For years, I thought I’d be a doctor. I was accepted into medical school, bursary in hand. But on matric results day, I changed course. Something shifted. I realised my interests were steering elsewhere. I chose finance and accounting, inspired by my sister who was already an accountant. I enrolled at the University of the Free State and later graduated cum laude.
During my honours year, I had to choose my path - public practice or something broader. Thanks to the Thuthuka bursary scheme governed by SAICA, I was exposed to numerous summer and winter schools, and to a number of banks. That exposure sparked a new fire. I wanted to be in investment banking, to tackle large and complex problems. It terrified me, but it excited me too. So I moved to Johannesburg, a city where I had no immediate family, and joined FirstRand for my articles, and they have FNB, Wesbank, RMB and Ashburton as a part of that business. In this environment, I found my home in corporate finance, working on major mining clients.
That’s where I first encountered Seriti Resources. They had just closed their first big deal with Anglo American, acquiring large mining operations that exclusively supply Eskom. I worked closely on their second major acquisition, learning about the scale, complexity and national importance of their work. I became fascinated by their story, by the people, and by the culture. When I began looking for something beyond banking, possibly private equity, Doug, Seriti’s CFO, asked me to help build their corporate finance team in-house.
That was 2021. I said yes. Not because it was the easy thing to do, but because I was ready for a challenge.
Seriti didn’t just give me a desk, they gave me responsibility. I helped shape corporate strategy. I got pulled into discussions about the Just Energy Transition, where the company saw a role not just in coal but in renewables. When Standard Bank brought Windlab to our attention, we saw the potential. We decided to acquire it, and I became a board member of Seriti Green. Many thought it was unthinkable to bring renewables into coal country, but we saw the impact it could create. And so, we began developing what is now the largest wind farm in South Africa.
The CFO role at Seriti Green soon followed. I’d never held that title before, but I said yes again. I believed in the mission, in the autonomy, and in the belief they had in young talent. We’ve since closed a massive renewable energy deal, and the business is scaling rapidly. It’s complex, high-stakes work, but it matters.
In that time, I’ve come to learn something about fear. It only limits you if you let it. Whether it was stepping away from medicine, moving to Johannesburg alone, or stepping into a C-suite role without prior experience, fear has always been there. But growth only comes when you lean in. My goal has always been to move beyond the circumstances that defined my early life. Not to erase them, but to rewrite the narrative. I won’t be defined by loss or pity, and I refuse to wear orphanhood as a badge of limitation.
My leadership philosophy is rooted in the same values as Seriti - simplicity, intensity and consistency, and once again, curiosity. I’m obsessed with learning across disciplines, industries and perspectives. Whether it’s sports, gaming, art, beauty, history or music, I believe that it is the depth of your curiosity, not whether you’re the best necessarily, that defines the breadth of your impact. I believe leaders should be hungry for knowledge, humble in growth, and terrified of complacency.
Seriti’s culture reflects that. In just seven years, Seriti grew into a South African champion, directly and indirectly employing over 15,000 employees. It’s bold, it’s strategic, it supplies 30 to 40 percent of Eskom’s coal. If it were listed, it would sit comfortably in the JSE Top 40. But despite its scale, the leadership are inspirational - Mike, Doug and Peter - and so it operates with the heart of a start-up - lean, agile, and fiercely committed to the country.
I said yes to the YES! Summit, not because of panels or speeches, but because it calls for ownership. The future of this country will not be built by someone else. It’s us, the youth, who must roll up our sleeves, lean into the discomfort, and change South Africa ourselves.
This Just Energy Transition isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. But our work is impact-driven. Every rand must return value to the province that needs it most. That’s why we invest in skills bootcamps, AgriHubs, and initiatives like the Seriti Green Skills Portal, now with over 16,000 job seekers registered. That’s why we support farmers, train artisans, and listen to what communities actually want. The 10,800 title deeds handed over in Kenya last week, the 91m blades arriving in Richards Bay and making their way to Mpumalanga aren’t headlines, they’re signals of a future being built.
My message to our young people?
My orphan story did not define me. I made that decision. Any of us can achieve great things if we do not run from fear. Embrace it. Get uncomfortable. Get curious. Read widely. Think deeply. And never let your past define your future.
Some books that shaped me? Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. The Choice by Edith Eger. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. These taught me that pain doesn’t erase potential, that purpose is a choice, and that life, however hard, is always worth building.
So, let us build, not tomorrow, but now. SA needs us. All of us.