C O M P A N Y P R O F I L E
MetriCap (Pty) Ltd is a young and dynamic company based in Cape Town, South Africa. The company was founded in February 2002 with the sole purpose of developing and exploiting its intellectual property. MetriCap (Pty) Ltd focuses on, and specialises in, the design, development and industrialisation of novel dispensing closures. MetriCap (Pty) Ltd is funded by HBD Venture Capital.
Who We Are
Jabus Wessels holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering as well as a Masters in Medical Physiology. He has extensive experience in Biomedical Engineering research and development and has authored several research papers in the field. He has authored or co-authored various patents and has been involved in the design and development of numerous medical devices. Some of his designs have won awards from the SABS Design Institute and one has been acknowledged as being the most innovative product to enter the North American market.
Jabus was a research scientist in the Department of Medical Physiology at the University of Stellenbosch before founding MetriCap (Pty) Ltd.
He lives by the motto that "there is a difference between knowing the name of something, and knowing something".
Julia Long manages HBD's venture capital fund (the company which funds MetriCap) and has been with HBD since it was founded in September 2000. She drives the strategic direction of HBD's investments and exits as well as acting in the capacity of non-executive director for a number of HBD's investments.
Before HBD, Julia headed up the development team at Thawte, a digital certification authority where she gained exposure to international markets, entrepreneurial start up ventures, early stage growth, management, web development, project management and change management.
Julia also worked in a number of other industries such as financial, auditing, hospitality and insurance. Her roles varied from bookeeper and trainer to HR administration. She has a B.Tech in Information Technology and has completed a number of courses in leadership, negotiation, financial analysis, risk and project management.
Eben van Heerden manages all the financial and legal aspects of HBD's portfolio. Eben is also part of the investment team and sits on the board of some of HBD's investments.
He is a Chartered Accountant and has served on the boards of various companies. Eben has broad experience in business mergers, corporate finance and turnaround strategies.
Before returning to South Africa, Eben served on the strategic board of the largest privately owned group of companies in Namibia in the capacity of Director: Strategy and Business Development.
