A South African court has dismissed a final attempt to reverse the winding-up of Africa Founders Ventures (AFV), the non-profit entity behind the Mastercard Foundation-backed 54 Collective, bringing an 18-month legal battle to a definitive close. The High Court in Johannesburg ruled on 12 May 2026 that a provisional liquidation order granted in July 2025 is not appealable, and that even if it were, the business rescue practitioner’s challenge had no reasonable prospect of success.
In a stinging judgment, Acting Judge Johann Gautschi also ordered the practitioner, Barry Urban, to pay the costs of the failed appeal from his own pocket — known as a de bonis propriis order — on the punitive attorney-client scale. The…