Some stories are built on grit rather than smooth paths, Neré Jansen Van Vuuren’s journey is one of them. Adversity is served as both a teacher and a testing ground for her from an early age, creating the resilience that would later define her leadership throughout Africa’s technological and financial landscapes. What began as a humble beginning, serving tables in Cape Town restaurants has blossomed into an astonishing career that now sees her as C&R Software’s Regional Director for Africa, guiding the company’s strategic growth.
Her rise was never linear; it was gained by perseverance, reinvention, and a firm belief in producing value beyond profit. Her transition from hospitality to technology exemplifies her talent for transformation, turning obstacles into opportunities and ideas into meaningful change. Empathy and authenticity guide her as she is advocating for solutions that promote financial inclusion and empower communities across the continent.
Today, she is a dynamic leader who is bridging the gap between technology and humanity, demonstrating that true success is measured not by titles or awards, but by how one uses influence to help others. For her, leadership is an ongoing act of courage, connection, and purpose.
Building Foundations Through Adversity
Neré describes her childhood as complicated—a reality that could have broken her spirit but instead forged something stronger. Those early challenges became the crucible that tempered her resilience and deepened her capacity for empathy. “My complicated childhood wasn’t just a challenge—it was the forge that shaped who I am today,” she reflects.
Her personal foundation rests on relationships that matter most. She married her high school sweetheart, a romance that kindled in 1989 and continues to burn bright decades later. Together, they raised two sons and welcomed a daughter-in-law whom she considers the daughter she never had. Now, as a grandmother to a seven-year-old granddaughter and four-year-old grandson, she finds pure joy in the simple moments that ground her ambitions.
Animals have always occupied a sacred space in their lives. She has never lived with fewer than six dogs, and in 2016, she orchestrated an ambitious relocation of twelve dogs from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Leaving them behind simply wasn’t an optional decision that speaks volumes about her values and priorities.
Her interests paint a picture of someone who seeks balance through variety. From the disciplined worlds of dancing and gymnastics to the adrenaline rush of full-contact karate and off-road quad racing, she embraces both precision and passion. She finds equal fulfillment in golf’s calculated strategy, hiking’s meditative serenity, and the creative expression of oil painting.
Three individuals profoundly shaped her worldview. Her husband taught her that she is enough, exactly as she is a lesson that liberated her from the exhausting pursuit of perfection. Her uncle, whose unexpected death in 2020 left a void that still resonates, demonstrated how quiet excellence transforms industries through his work in wine science. Her first Cape Town CEO showed her that integrity creates space for growth through both triumph and failure.
From Tables to Transformation
Neré’s professional journey defies conventional wisdom about career progression. She completed a fashion design diploma after school, passing the traditional university route. Her expertise grew through targeted courses and hands-on experience, a testament to the power of practical learning and determined self-education.
Her career began literally from the ground up, serving tables in Cape Town restaurants. But even in those early days, her instinct for spotting opportunities and implementing revenue-boosting strategies set her apart. She quickly advanced to Maître D’ and restaurant consultant, transforming struggling establishments into thriving businesses. The satisfaction of turning challenges into victories became her signature approach.
The transition to corporate life arrived through an unexpected channel. She as a waitress once managed to receive a promotion and recommended her for the vacated position at Momentum, which required relocating back to Johannesburg. From there, her trajectory accelerated during a defining chapter at Discovery during its formative years. “The company was small enough that Adrian Gore would stop you in corridors to recite the core values,” she recalls. Those early days instilled a philosophy she still holds sacred: focus less on selling and more on adding value, and the selling naturally follows.
The pivotal shift came when she moved into the technology sector, specializing in credit risk data, analytics, and decisioning technology. Organizations including KreditInform, Experian, Principa, and FICO each added crucial layers to her expertise, building toward her current role leading sales and go-to-market strategies across Africa for C&R Software.
Today, she focuses on enterprise solutions that deliver measurable value to financial institutions throughout the continent. What drives her remains unchanged from her waitressing days, identifying opportunities to create meaningful impact and implementing ideas that transform businesses. The restaurant floor may have been replaced by boardrooms, but her commitment to authentic value creation has never wavered.
The Balancing Act
Behind every successful professional stands a support system that makes excellence possible. For Neré, that system has a name: her husband. He manages everything from grocery shopping to bill payments, home repairs to school pickups, never questioning, always supporting. He has even scheduled her hair and nail appointments. This rock-solid foundation gives her the freedom to pursue professional excellence without the weight of guilt that often accompanies ambition.
Balance, she insists, isn’t about perfect time distribution. It’s about quality connections. The family maintains a non-negotiable tradition of weekly gatherings that bring together children, grandchildren, and her mother-in-law, who live with them and add immeasurable joy to their home. These meals nourish both body and soul, creating space for advice-sharing, life updates, and the kind of belly laughs that reset perspectives.
“My husband has never once made me feel guilty about my drive for success, though I’ve certainly inflicted enough self-judgment for both of us,” she admits. They counterbalance intense work periods with activities that reconnect them: beach walks, hiking trails, scenic drives, golf games, or simply lounging with their pack of dogs.
She has learned that balance emerges not through perfect equilibrium each day but through rhythms of intensity and recovery. When work demands peak, she leans on her support system. When opportunities arise for family connection, she shows up fully present. This interplay between professional dedication and personal presence isn’t perfect, but it’s authentic, and authenticity is the only sustainable balance she has found.
Driving Transformation Across Africa
Neré’s vision extends far beyond quarterly targets and annual revenue goals. She pursues transformative change across Africa’s financial landscape, not just implementing technology but fundamentally reshaping how financial services empower individuals and communities.
Her approach centers on building meaningful C-level relationships that transcend typical vendor dynamics. “I don’t sell products. I architect partnerships that deliver strategic and meaningful change that drives transformation enterprise-wide,” she states firmly. These solutions deliver measurable business outcomes while keeping the human element at the forefront of technological advancement.
As a keynote speaker and financial inclusion advocate, she has taken the stage more than thirty times, passionately advocating for technology’s fundamental role in achieving genuine financial inclusion. She bridges the digital divide that prevents millions of Africans from accessing essential financial services, translating technological capabilities into tangible business value.
What gets her out of bed each morning is the opportunity to expand cutting-edge solutions into Africa’s dynamic markets. The continent presents unique challenges but even greater opportunities, the chance to leapfrog legacy systems and create financial infrastructure that is both innovative and inclusive.
Her philosophy remains clear: technology should never be implemented for its own sake but rather as a catalyst for human potential. Her business appetite is twofold, driving commercial success while simultaneously advancing economic empowerment. This dual focus creates sustainable growth that benefits all stakeholders, from shareholders to end users previously excluded from formal financial systems.
Pandemic Pivot
The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just affect Neré’s professional life, it completely transformed it. She embarked on a new role as a global tech giant during South Africa’s hard lockdown, marking an abrupt transition from her identity as someone driven by face-to-face engagement and meaningful personal connections.
Overnight, she became a fully remote professional who wouldn’t meet colleagues or customers in person for the first twelve months. Onboarding into a new company through a fifteen-inch screen presented unique challenges that tested her adaptability. For someone who values authenticity and relationship-building above all, she became almost obsessed with one question: How do I remain real in this virtual world?
“Video calls replaced handshakes. Digital presentations substituted for whiteboard sessions. The energy of in-person meetings gave way to carefully crafted virtual engagements. Each small victory in this new landscape became a milestone worth celebrating,” she notes.
Five years later, she has not only adjusted but thrived in remote work environments for global technology businesses. She now strategically travels across Africa for face-to-face meetings with colleagues, prospects, clients, and partners, experiencing exponential personal and professional growth along the way.
While virtual engagement has opened doors and maintained fluid communication, she has developed a renewed appreciation for in-person interaction. Those rare moments of genuine physical connection have become precious opportunities to truly understand others and build authentic relationships.
Strength Through Vulnerability
Neré’s success has been fueled by unwavering passion that burns through obstacles, coupled with grit that refuses to acknowledge defeat. Fortitude keeps her standing when challenges would prefer that she falls. Her natural optimism transforms problems into possibilities, while her spirit of excellence ensures she never delivers anything but her best.
She approaches life with an open mind, ready to learn, adapt, and grow. Empathy allows her to understand others’ perspectives, making her both a better leader and collaborator. Her philosophy has evolved to “rather try and fail than fail to try,” which has opened doors she would have previously left unopened out of fear.
Among her growth opportunities has been difficulty of accepting failure, rejection, and criticism. She exhausted herself trying to please everyone before realizing that authenticity matters more than universal approval. This shift from external validation to internal integrity proved transformative.
She remains extremely sensitive about honoring commitments, feeling deeply distressed when circumstances force her to disappoint others, even when factors sit beyond her control. She has been told she’s too detailed or dramatic because she wears her heart on her sleeve and speaks candidly. Balancing emotional authenticity with fact-based communication remains a work in progress.
Recognition and Impact
Throughout her career, Neré has received recognition that validates her commitment to excellence. Multiple Top Performer awards at Momentum and Discovery marked early milestones, followed by similar honors at KreditInform, Experian, and Principa. She earned Employee of the Year nominations at Principa for three consecutive years and received the MD’s Employee award for making a meaningful difference at Experian.
More recently at C&R Software, her team received the “Best Collections and Recoveries Innovation Award” at the Africa Bank 4.0 Awards in Kenya, celebrating their commitment to responsible innovation that meaningfully transforms debt collection practices across Africa. Beyond formal accolades, she has developed into an accomplished keynote speaker, moderator, and panelist in the fintech and financial services sector. These platforms have allowed her to champion the empowerment of underbanked populations across Africa—work that transcends typical career achievements.
A Message for Aspiring Leaders
Neré’s advice to aspiring leaders cuts straight to the heart of effective leadership: “Listen to hear, not to respond. The moment you start formulating your answer while someone else is speaking, you’ve missed the opportunity to truly understand them.”
She urges leaders to focus less on being “the boss” and more on adding value to others’ growth, lives, and joy. She advises them to be transparent and fair but also open about mistakes. Saying “I was wrong” or “I’m sorry” doesn’t diminish authority, it humanizes it.
Create boundaries without becoming distant. Learn to say no with grace. Have tough, honest conversations, but always with kindness as your guide. Develop the ability to “read the room” sensing unspoken concerns and addressing them before they escalate.
She reminds leaders that true character emerges not during smooth sailing but in how they navigate storms and repair damage. Never stop learning or asking for advice, expertise in one area doesn’t translate to mastery in all. Quickly identify toxic relationships or situations and address them purposefully rather than hoping they’ll resolve themselves.
Most importantly, be real. Authentic leadership creates space for others to bring their full, imperfect selves to work.
Living on the Edge
Neré lives by Jim Whittaker’s words: “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” Comfort, she believes, is the enemy of growth. When you feel completely at ease, you’re probably stagnating. Excellence should be non-negotiable in everything you undertake.
The secret to both personal fulfillment and professional success? An active lifestyle coupled with a great sense of humor, compassion and empathy tempered by clear boundaries, and the courage to be authentically yourself while continuously evolving.
True innovation in financial inclusion must begin by acknowledging the lived realities of those we aim to survive. Success isn’t measured by accounts opened or loans disbursed but by whether people’s financial resilience and opportunities genuinely improve.
This mission drives her work: ensuring financial systems serve people rather than the reverse. Technology becomes a powerful tool of economic justice only when designed with empathy and deployed with purpose.
Africa’s future will be shaped by how effectively innovative financial services connect to those who need them most. The goal isn’t just creating customers but empowering economic citizens who can fully participate in building prosperity for themselves, their communities, and the continent.
The most meaningful innovation happens at the intersection of technological capability and human understanding, where digital solutions meet real-world needs. This is the space where transformation becomes not just possible but inevitable.
For Neré Jansen Van Vuuren, life is too short for mediocrity or pretense. Have fun, do meaningful work, and be unapologetically real. That’s not just her mantra, it’s her legacy in the making.
