Who we are

James Ramsay is an experienced product leader from tech unicorns Remote and GitLab, both pioneers of global remote working.

After years helping companies hire talent anywhere in the world, James saw a parallel challenge: millions of talented young people locked out of local employment opportunities simply because they lack access to education. He founded Banyan to change that—scaling a student finance system where education is an investment in students’ futures.

Founder of Cassinia Environmental, protecting and restoring nature throughout Australia, and Cassinia Community launching a range of social enterprises.

As a Carbon Market Specialist with World Vision Australia, Paul Dettmann saw the importance and impact of education in Africa, starting the journey towards launching Banyan.

Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Private Assets at Brightlight, and Founder of EdFin, Simba Marekera brings deep knowledge and expertise including impact investing, novel asset classes, securitization and education finance.

Born in Zimbabwe, through education finance Simba studied at Yale before coming to Australia where he has worked in multiple impact finance roles, including Christian Super.

CEO of Cassinia Community, Ross Kelly was instrumental in conceiving and incubating the Banyan project. Ross has many years of experience working around the globe, including in emerging markets with Caterpillar Global mining.

During this time he was involved with locally recruited graduates and upskilling and training national staff. He spent several years creating and operating a training institute for Caterpillar in the vocational education sector. This has given him a passion for providing education opportunities for people who would otherwise miss out.