Diaspora Wealth Co-op Board Nominations

Diaspora Wealth Co-op Board Nominations

Diaspora Wealth Co-op is preparing to launch in South Africa as a co-operative financial institution (CFI), subject to required regulatory approvals. The initial Board election is part of building a member-owned, prudently governed, regulator-ready institution that members can trust with their savings and long-term financial well-being.

In line with the CFI start-up guidance prepared by the Co-operative Banks Development Agency, a steering group has been established as an interim launch-readiness structure to support the mobilisation, governance preparation, member education, operational readiness, and CFI application process for the proposed Diaspora Wealth Co-op.

The Nominations Panel’s role is to facilitate the nominations and elections process for the Board and Audit Committee. The Panel has a structured candidate review process to receive, screen, compare, and publish nominations for the initial board and the Audit Committee. It does not elect the board. It prepares the field for a fair vote by members. 

Members are invited to put forward suitable candidates for inclusion as Board Directors, Audit Committee members, or both. Nominations may be made by self-nomination or by nomination from another member, provided the candidate accepts the nomination and completes the required nomination, suitability, conflict and consent declarations.

Key Dates

  • Nominations open: June 18, 2026
  • Nominations close: July 12, 2026 (extended for Audit Committee only)
  • Candidate review period: July 1 to July 15, 2026
  • Final candidate pack published: July 16, 2026
  • Election: August 8-9, 2026

Role of the Initial Board

The initial Board (9 members) will guide the Co-op through formation, regulatory application readiness, governance implementation, and preparation for a controlled launch. The Board will serve as the elected member governance body and will be accountable for protecting members’ interests, ensuring proper stewardship of members’ funds, overseeing management and service providers, and maintaining regulatory discipline.

  • Act in the best interests of the Co-op and its members.
  • Uphold the Co-op’s Constitution and co-operative principles.
  • Protect member funds and member trust.
  • Oversee governance, risk, compliance, financial crime, liquidity, savings and operational policies.
  • Maintain confidentiality and respect data privacy.

Role of the Audit Committee

The Audit Committee (3 members) is an independent assurance committee elected by members. It is separate from the Board and management, and its purpose is to provide independent review and oversight over the Co-op’s controls, accounting practices, information systems, audit processes, complaints, financial statements, audit findings, and reports to the Board and the Prudential Authority where required.

The current governance framework expects three Audit Committee members elected by members and not serving as Board directors. At least one Audit Committee member should have accounting, audit, finance, control or risk competence.

Expected Time Commitment

  • Attend monthly Board, committee or governance meetings relevant to the role.
  • Attend additional launch-readiness meetings during the first 60 to 90 days.
  • Participate in induction and regulatory training.
  • Review meeting packs, regulatory materials and assurance matters in advance of meetings.
  • Respond promptly to governance, compliance and regulatory filing requests.

Who May Be Nominated

Eligible members (registered and fully paid) may nominate themselves or put forward suitable candidates for the Board, the Audit Committee, or both. A candidate must be a member in good standing, have paid the required membership share and any required entrance fee, have a seconder, accept the nomination, and complete the required nomination pack before publication in the final candidate list.

Audit Committee candidates should be independent of the Board and management. If elected to the Audit Committee role, they should not also be serving as Board directors.

How Candidates Will Be Reviewed

The aim is to elect a balanced Board with sufficient collective competence to oversee a regulated, savings-led, digital-first CFI. No single candidate needs every skill. The Nominations Panel protects process integrity, checks completeness and eligibility, reviews suitability and conflict disclosures, and prepares fair member-facing candidate information.

  • Integrity comes first: integrity, honesty, accountability, transparency and respect for regulation are threshold requirements.
  • Competence must be intentional: candidates are assessed against a documented skills matrix.
  • Conflicts must be disclosed: disclosed conflicts may be manageable; undisclosed material conflicts are a governance concern.
  • Confidentiality and fairness are essential: sensitive candidate information will be restricted and member-facing disclosures will be redacted appropriately.

Candidate Conduct

Candidates must communicate accurately, respectfully and in a manner consistent with the Co-op’s pre-authorisation status. Candidates must not offer gifts, payments, fee waivers, favours or other inducements for votes; use confidential member data or Co-op systems for campaigning unless the same channel is made equally available to all candidates; make misleading claims about regulatory approval, products, returns, guarantees or access to member funds; or circulate personal attacks or unverified allegations.

Candidates must update the Nominations Panel immediately if any declaration becomes inaccurate before the vote. Serious breaches may result in correction notices, referral to the meeting chair, publication of clarifications, or recommendation for disqualification where the breach undermines election integrity.

What You Will Need Before You Start

  • The role being nominated for: Board Director, Audit Committee member, or both.
  • Candidate identity and contact details.
  • Seconder details.
  • Short biography, 150 to 250 words.
  • Candidate statement, 150 to 250 words.
  • CV or profile, maximum two pages.
  • Skills matrix self-assessment and evidence examples.
  • Suitability, conflict and related-party disclosures.
  • Time commitment, training, suitability undertakings.
  • Confidentiality and screening consent.

You can save your nomination draft and return to it before nominations close. Once the final nomination pack is submitted, corrections should be handled through the Nominations Panel.

Submit a Nomination

When you are ready, complete the Board and Audit Committee Nomination and Suitability Pack. The form closes at 23:59 on July 12, 2026.

Start nomination form