Cell C CFO El Kope secures nomination for the 2026 CFO Awards

Sinenhlanhla Mncwango 02 July 2026

After taking the finance helm at Cell C in 2024, El Kope has been recognised among South Africa's leading finance executives with a nomination for the 2026 CFO Awards, celebrating excellence in finance leadership.

El Kope was appointed CFO of Cell C on 5 March 2024 after serving as acting CFO from August 2023, following a year-long sabbatical.

Previously, she was finance director at Tsebo International and CFO of DHL Supply Chain Africa and South Africa. She also held senior finance roles at The Coca-Cola Company across its Central, East and West Africa operations.

El began her career at Gobodo Incorporated before completing her finance training at South African Breweries. She holds a BCom honours in accounting.

Dubbed the “Oscars of Finance”, the CFO Awards continues to celebrate leaders who raise the bar for people leadership in South Africa across listed companies, large corporates and government institutions.

The 2026 nominees will be celebrated at a gala event on 26 November, where winners across multiple categories, including the CFO of the Year title, will be announced.

Sinenhlanhla Mncwango

Sinenhlanhla Mncwango is the senior writer for CFO South Africa. She grew up in Vryheid, northern KZN; studied journalism at the University of Johannesburg and obtained her honours in 2020. Sinenhlanhla has experience in online and broadcast media. In her spare time she enjoys a good game of cricket, hockey and loves learning different languages.

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