Bowmans upgrades its technology law capabilities by installing Robby Coelho as a new partner in Cape Town

Rapid development in technology is fundamentally impacting all businesses, said Bowmans chairman and Senior Partner Ezra Davids, as the leading African law firm announced yesterday that it has scooped technology lawyer and award-winning entrepreneur Robby Coelho as a new partner in its Cape Town office. 

“Robby has a rare skill set that will complement that of our existing team and help us to build out our technology law capabilities while keeping pace with our clients’ increasing and changing requirements,” said Davids. 

After several years based in Luxembourg, Coelho has returned to South Africa. His extensive experience across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, plus his varied roles across private and in-house legal practice, business and technology platforms, gives Coelho a unique perspective on the technology sector, noted Bowmans.

Most recently, Coelho is the founder of Dalza, a web and mobile platform that empowers parents of children with learning challenges, and their support team, to understand, manage and co-ordinate all their needs, while putting the child first. The tech business, which he built from the ground up, has expanded to South Africa and across Europe. It was named 2025 Global Champion at the World Summit Awards, and was joint winner of the Luxembourg Government Touch Base Programme.

As a partner at Bowmans, Coelho will focus on technology and commercial matters: digital services and platforms, infrastructure, data, privacy, AI, IP, fintech and the agreements that support how modern organisations operate. 

“A meaningful part of my role will also involve helping the firm refine how we deliver tech-related legal services across offices and sectors throughout Africa,” said Coelho as he shared his return to South Africa. “This is the work I enjoy most: finding better ways to help clients make progress and deal with the challenges in front of them.”

Coelho confirmed Dalza would continue, moving into a new phase as he remains founder but won’t be as hands-on. “Our platform is being used by families, educators and other professionals in ways that continue to guide its development. We now have a committed team who have taken on more of the day-to-day work, while I stay close to strategy, direction and the decisions that matter. Dalza is not slowing down; it’s adapting, and this shift gives the business what it needs for the long term.”

Coelho's appointment as a partner in the Cape Town office further strengthens Bowmans’ expertise in the technology sector, following hot on the heels of the firm appointing Justin Ramages as a partner in its Johannesburg office last month.

Ramages joined Bowmans from MTN South Africa where he focused on telecommunications-led M&A mandates and gained first-hand experience of the intricacies of dealmaking in this complex and dynamic sector. At the time of his appointment, Davids noted that “Technology, including telecommunications and fintech, is a critical growth area for Bowmans, and a key focus sector for us.”

Like Ramages, Coelho has previously worked for MTN South Africa, rising to deputy to the Group Chief Legal Counsel, primarily overseeing digital services and fintech businesses, key procurement transactions and strategic projects across Africa and the Middle East, along with managing MTN Group’s intellectual property portfolio.

A law graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, Coelho throughout his 25-year career in law and technology has also been a Legal Manager for EDS (now Hewlett Packard), covering Africa and Middle East, and rose from candidate attorney to partner and Head of the award-winning TMT & IP Practice Group, and Head of the TMT Sector Group, at leading South African law firm Webber Wentzel.