Rebecca Eliot

Rebecca Eliot is a distinguished entrepreneur and advocate for elite African athletes, bringing over 30 years of expertise in business development, strategy, consumer loyalty, and fan engagement in the sports industry.

She launched her career in marketing at age 21 by founding a communications firm, which she later transformed into a publishing business, selling it to a multinational media company in 2001.

Rebecca then played a crucial role in a pioneering fundraising program for schools in South Africa, which has raised over $55 million to support more than 8,000 schools. Following this, she established a strategic loyalty and rewards consulting firm, contributing to many successful loyalty programs across various sectors in South Africa. After selling this business in 2012, she worked with a private equity group and later took a corporate role to enhance value-added services for a financial services client.

In 2016, inspired by her experience as a parent of a young cyclist, she co-founded ProTouch Sports, providing a platform for talented African cyclists to compete internationally. Under her leadership, ProTouch became the top UCI Continental Cycling Team in Africa from 2019 to 2022, producing several national and continental champions. Additionally, she managed Team South Africa at the 2019 African Games, securing multiple medals.

Recognising the systemic challenges faced by African athletes, Rebecca launched The Podium Pursuit Collective in 2024, a platform using blockchain technology to connect top-performing athletes with global brands and fans, while also creating sustainable funding opportunities. Her initiatives include developing fan engagement apps and a comprehensive database of over 5,500 African athletes across various sports.

Rebecca is known for her strategic vision and operational expertise, regularly speaking at sports industry events on topics like fan engagement and digital technologies. Her multifaceted career reflects her commitment to enabling the next generation of African athletes and making a lasting impact in the sports community. Currently based in Abu Dhabi, she continues to focus on innovative strategies that align with regional growth in sport, media, and tourism and a burning passion to solve the toughest challenge that face athletes, that of funding!