People
About Colin
Dr Colin Habberton is a social-impact strategist, advisor, and researcher specialising in impact investing, impact measurement, and systems-level change. He works at the intersection of capital, evidence, and practice, helping investors, funds, foundations, and mission-driven organisations design rigorous yet practical approaches to achieving measurable social outcomes.
With a background spanning academia, applied research, and advisory work, Colin is known for translating complex impact concepts into usable frameworks that support real-world decision-making. His work focuses on impact measurement and management (IMM), theory of change design, impact assurance, and the integration of impact data into investment strategy, governance, and reporting. He has particular expertise in private markets, blended finance, and social-outcomes-oriented investment vehicles.
Colin has advised clients across Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, supporting a wide range of impact themes including poverty alleviation, inclusive finance, education, health, livelihoods, and climate resilience. He frequently works with investment teams to align impact intent, measurement systems, and capital allocation, ensuring that impact claims are credible, transparent, and decision-useful.
He is the founder of Relativ Impact, a platform and advisory practice focused on advancing high-quality impact practice through applied tools, frameworks, and digital solutions. This includes the development of interactive dashboards, capability assessments, and theory-of-change visualisations that help organisations move from narrative impact to evidence-based impact management.
Colin holds a doctorate focused on investment decision-making, and regularly speaks, teaches, and writes on impact investing, impact measurement, and the future of accountable capital. He is motivated by a conviction that capital, when thoughtfully designed and responsibly governed, can be a powerful force for lasting social good.
Marsé Kirsten
About Marsé
Marsé completed her degree in Accounting, as well as her Postgraduate Certificate in Education, at Stellenbosch University, thereby combining her passions. She leverages her experience in education and languages with her unique expertise in accounting and mathematics.
Marsé is very adaptable and has explored a diverse range of work experiences and contexts to inform a unique perspective on the world. These work experiences always have people and social impact at the centre. She has been involved in various different projects across the impact management and measurement space, through which the main goal is optimization and maximization of positive impact.
Marsé is a self-motivated, hardworking and professional person with a passion for helping people reach their full potential.
Sibongakonke Mkhize
About Sbonga
Sbonga is an operations assistant for Relativ Impact, she holds an honours degree in Industrial Sociology, where she developed a deep passion for understanding the social dynamics within industries and organizations. Her focus spans labour relations, organizational behaviour, and workplace culture, as she believes in the power of improving work environments and how people interact within them. She has practical experience in marketing and promotions through her work with Real Promotions, as well as in retail, where she was also exposed to administrative tasks and gained insight into the operational side of business. Additionally, she interned in the Department of Social Development, further expanding her understanding of social policies and community engagement. With a strong interest in working with people, she aims to make a meaningful impact by fostering positive changes in workplace structures and helping organizations build more collaborative, productive, and supportive environments.
Sarah Nielsen
About Sarah
Sarah leads Relativ’s operations in North America as well as projects with clients and partners globally.
Before joining Relativ, Sarah held various management positions at organizations, mainly youth development focused, in Canada and across Southern Africa. Her educational background is in international development and fundraising management.
Sarah has experience in multiple levels and areas of social sector management including project development, impact measurement, fundraising, and communications. She is the Campaign Chair for one of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka’s endowment funds and is leading the development of an Impact Measurement and Management Community of Practice for the Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development.
Having served a diverse range of stakeholders from around the world, Sarah is dedicated to advancing creative approaches to development through sustainable resource mobilization.
About Fiona
Fiona is a media professional by training, holding a Bachelors in Journalism from Rhodes University, and has worked in diverse capacities for magazines, newspapers and television. After completing a couple of development-focused courses through UNISA, Fiona moved her focus to the non-profit sphere. She went on to head up the Content and Communications department of a well-established education-focused non-profit, gold Youth Development Agency. After graduating from Iris Global Leaders School in the USA, she co-pioneered an outreach project for at-risk women in California, and went on to direct Iris Leaders School, gaining valuable leadership and administrative experience. She is currently based in Varanasi, India.
About Kuhle
Kuhle is a Sparks Impact Fellow. She works on the Marketing, fundraising and administrative tasks within the fellowship. Her experience spans marketing, communications, event coordination, and community impact projects. She has grown Sparks’ digital presence by 2,370% since starting and built collaborations and partnerships to support fundraising.
Kuhle has held leadership and volunteer roles at Maloba Consulting, Phaphama SEDI, and Young Entrepreneurs Programmes. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and social impact.
Advisors and Associates
About Chris
Chris is a Computer Science educator who has a passion for developing future problem solvers by incorporating code into foundational education. He believes that programming is not only a vital skill that all people should understand, but that the true value is in developing computational thinkers.
Computational thinking is a powerful problem solving strategy which has the power to unlock the door to gritty problem solvers who will impact the future by addressing world problems.
Chris believes in looking at a problem and identifying a solution that can be implemented at its grass-root level. This is why he focused on creating an educational strategy that starts at the earliest level of schooling. He spent time researching, developing and sourcing tools that will supplement the teaching of computational thinking across all year levels which culminated in the establishment of a hands-on research project call ‘incode’ in 2017.
The incode project is designed to bring computational thinking to children’s foundational learning and to develop a clear path of progressive development throughout their schooling career through professional development for teachers and outsourced after-school programmes.
Outside of education, Chris has developed a number of full-stack solutions to address specific needs within schools and businesses. He enjoys creating computational solutions for everyday problems by combining his expertise in software development and database architecture.
Kirsty Dewrance
About Kirsty
Kirsty has been with the Relativ team from the start in 2009. Living in Norhtern KZN in the heart of Zululand, by qualification she is a veterinary nurse, ballet and swimming teacher and dog trainer.
She has worked as a freelance graphic and web designer since 2007 and contributes to our Relativ team with all things visual.
Gabrielle Habberton
About Gabrielle
Gabrielle is the Co-Founder of the Relativ Group and a specialist in Socio-economic Development and Impact Management. Gabrielle has been working across the social investment continuum for over a decade. She has been involved in each aspect of the life cycle of impact-driven organizations, the investors that support them and the contexts in which they operate to enhance innovative and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
Gabrielle completed her formal education, which culminated in a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, at the University of Cape Town. Gabrielle has since played leading roles in a number of pioneering organisations and projects primarily operating in Southern Africa.
Gabrielle’s work has included areas such as research and analysis; government policy co-creation and design; development of impact management and measurement processes and practices (from theory of change to impact reporting and learning); impact assessment and due diligence of social and impact investments (including a number of evaluations of Jobs Fund investments); deployment and management of impact capital; strategic and product development and planning; and guest lecturing on Masters and Executive education courses.