Student Biographies class of 2021 - University ...

Student
Biographies

inclusive
innovation
mphil

 Class of 2021

Sampson Kofi Adotey
Sampson Kofi Adotey is a Knowledge           Duke of Edinburgh International Award
Broker with an interest in facilitating      for Young People and Ghana’s Head of
cross-functional collaboration for           State Award Scheme where he received
digital and social transformation. His       both Bronze and Silver Award.
experience spans across multiple
sectors including Communications,            Sampson is a Global Shaper of the
Education Delivery and Management,           World Economic Forum’s Global
Development, WASH, Science Policy            Shapers Community. He was selected
and Academic Diplomacy. Sampson is           to attend the World Economic Forum
the Manager, Alumni Engagement and           2019 Annual Meeting in Dalian, China
Research Reporting – Global Network          and subsequently, the World Economic
at the African Institute of Mathematical     Forum in Africa 2019. Sampson currently
Science. Before this, Sampson worked in      serves as the Impact Officer of the Accra
Communications and Policy at the Next        Hub.
Einstein Forum. He is an alumnus of the

Zenariah Barends
Zenariah Barends is at the Community         of the BRICS Business Council in
Chest of the Western Cape, where             South Africa for two years (2017 and
she is responsible for its publication       2018). She has a strong passion for arts
division. Prior to joining Community         development and is a founder member
Chest, Zenariah was the Chief of Staff at    of the Cape Cultural Collective. She has
Independent Media. She has also served       served on both corporate and non-profit
as the head of investigations at the Truth   boards including The South African
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in       Institute for Advancement (Inyathelo)
the Western Cape, and as a researcher        and the Cape Cultural Collective, where
at the Education Policy Unit (EPU) at the    she currently serves as chairperson of the
University of the Western Cape where         board. Zenariah has a BA (Honours) from
she conducted research into post-            the University of the Western Cape.
apartheid higher education policy.
Zenariah served as the Chief Secretariat

Este Buchholz
Este Buchholz has worked with                especially loves working for start-ups
organisations across the private, public     and smaller organisations where it is
and not-for-profit sector. Following a       a bit messy, and she is required to get
successful career as an executive search     involved in areas outside of her comfort
consultant in the United Kingdom Este        zone, with room to make an impact.
changed careers to the not-for-profit
sector shortly after returning to South      She is married to a design lecturer and
Africa in 2014.                              they have two teenagers, a boy and a
                                             girl. As challenging as it is at times, she
For the past four years she has been         is very grateful for the love, patience
supporting NGOs with their human             and empathy parenting has taught her.
resources and operational challenges,        Este graduated with a BA in Industrial
mostly leading recruitment and putting       Psychology in 1993 at Stellenbosch
policies and processes in place. Este        University.

Ayrton Da Silva
Ayrton Da Silva is a small business          worked extensively with the University
founder and researcher. Currently,           of Cape Town, National Government
he works as a Research and Project           Departments, Municipalities, State-
Assistant at the University of Cape          owned Enterprises, as well as market
Town’s Graduate School of Business.          leaders in retail, construction, and
His role is set in the Solution Space,       logistics. They have sponsored: the
an entrepreneurial and business              refurbishment of the Indoor Rowing
research unit, business incubator, and       Centre, which proudly carries their
innovation hub. He engages in empirical      branding; the annual Rowing Club
research into the determinants of firm       fundraiser; and the team apparel of the
performance, drivers of sustainable          Hockey Club which also carries their
entrepreneurship, the effects of cognitive   branding.
biases, as well as macroeconomic
and environmental conditions. Ayrton         Ayrton holds a Bachelor of Business
is currently co-authoring an article         Science Degree specialising in
examining the effects of cognitive biases    Economics, as well as a FISA Level II
on firm performance.                         Rowing Coaching Qualification. Ayrton
                                             enjoys an active and adventurous
Additionally, Ayrton runs two small          lifestyle.
businesses. To date his businesses have

Noor Jehan Docrat
Noor Jehan Docrat has over 20 years of       to drive purposeful and long-term value
experience working, collaborating and        creation for society. She is currently
engaging in the Corporate, Education         lecturing in Stellenbosch and is equally
and NGO spheres in South Africa, South       passionate about education as the
East Asia and the UK. Her qualifications     primary vehicle for unlocking true
include two Degrees in Commerce, a           human potential. She is an avid reader
postgraduate Certificate in Education        and writes in her spare time.
(Cum Laude) and a Diploma in
Information Management.

As an alumni of the Cambridge Institute
for Sustainability Leadership, she is
passionate about creating innovative,
meaningful and sustainable solutions

Zandile Dumas
Subsequent to completing my Bachelor         In 2018, I was awarded the Chevening
of Information Systems and BA Hons           Scholarship to pursue a Masters degree
in Brand Leadership, it was a natural        in Social Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths
progression to combine my knowledge          University focusing on Indigenous
and passions for social development,         Knowledge Systems ( IKS) as a source
innovation and entrepreneurship              of social innovation. Advocating for
to establish a business with a vision        IKS led development, my vision is to
to create social value to impact our         contribute to the design of eco-systems
challenges of inequality, poverty and        that support the demand and supply of
unemployment. Commencing as a                socially innovative IKS products/services
lecturer at Vega’s Imagination Lab, I        and build its capabilities to impact the
spent 10 years managing public and           country’s socio-economic challenges.
private sector projects developing youth
and women in the arts and culture,
enterprise development and agricultural
(food security) sector.

Tochukwu Egesi
Tochukwu is a financial services strategy       his development contributions in Nigeria
consultant at Genesis Analytics. Based in       including The International Monetary
Nigeria and has worked in over 13 African       Fund, The World Bank, the United
countries, his efforts at Genesis, lie at the   Kingdom Government, LEAP Africa, ACT
crossroads of financial services strategy       Foundation, and the First Lady of the
and digital economy development.                Federal Republic of Nigeria. Tochukwu is
                                                an IMF youth fellow and was named on
Tochukwu actively writes on financial           the Opportunity Desk Africa under 30 list
inclusion, financial deepening and digital      for social innovation.
inclusion on several media platforms
including Inclusion Times. Tochukwu has
received several awards and recognitions
from local and international agencies for

Mmalenyalo Galane
Mmalenyalo is a seasoned Learning               the Transformation and B-BBEE
and Development Professional, with              Framework, she’s responsible for
10+ years’ experience in delivering             Graduate Programmes, Learnerships,
successful L&D strategies and initiatives       Apprenticeships and all Young Talent
in companies such as Deloitte & Touché,         Programmes. She was recently
Standard Bank of SA and First National          appointed to establish the Engen Global
Bank. Having completed her Honours              Centre at the Engen Refinery in KZN
Degree in Psychology, at the University         and represents Engen in various external
of the Witwatersrand, she’s passionate          forums that are critical in driving the
about the development of Talented               implementation of NSDP 2030. In her
Youth in South Africa, education,               spare time, she enjoys outdoor activities
career advancement, mentorship and              with her three young children, reading,
entrepreneurship; especially in rural           her gym sessions and travel.
areas and poverty-stricken communities.

Mmalenyalo currently works for
Engen Petroleum managing their
Skills Development Scorecard under

Lauren Goetze
Lauren has a wide range of professional         where she worked with the team
experience over the past 5 years, working       supporting the world’s leading social
in organizations from a female-run              entrepreneurs, and assisted with the
microbusiness to U.S. government                global Women’s Initiative for Social
agencies. She is passionate about               Entrepreneurship initiatives. Lauren
social entrepreneurship, having                 has an undergraduate degree in
worked for entrepreneurs, ecosystem             International Relations and Economics
support organizations, government               from Drake University. Outside of work,
agencies regulating and supporting              Lauren loves to travel, bake, and swim.
entrepreneurs, and an INGO supporting
social entrepreneurs.

Most recently, she worked as the
Executive Assistant to the Regional
Director of Ashoka Arab World in Cairo,

Talia Govender
Talia Govender is a researcher working at   Throughout her career, she has oriented
the intersection of finance, technology     herself around purpose driven work,
and human behaviour. She graduated          particularly in the field of financial
from UCT with a Business Science            inclusion. She believes in leveraging the
(Finance) degree in 2014 and has            power of technology to create financial
spent the subsequent years exploring        products and services which simplify the
how consumers experience financial          complex and remove barriers to access,
products in the asset management            enabling individuals to make the most
and payment industries. In her current      empowered decisions for their future.
role as Customer Insight Lead at Yoco,
she is involved in creating solutions to
problems faced by small businesses in
South Africa.

Mark Heerden
Mark Heerden, with the African Institute    Industry Immersion Program”. The
for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) since      pilot has just completed its 4th year
2013, has followed his passion supporting   and 123 AIMS alumni have successfully
talented African STEM graduates achieve     participated from 26 African countries.
meaningful employment through
Work-Integrated-Learning programs and       Mark has also mentored AIMS’
industry internships. AIMS, founded in      postgraduates convert their research into
2003 with the University of Stellenbosch,   applied solutions. The most recent npo,
focuses on MSc degrees and                  EdgeAcoustics, brings smart bioacoustic
postgraduate research in mathematical       solutions to endangered ecology
sciences. Today AIMS operates residential   projects. Mark is a BCom(Hons) UCT
academic learning centers, partnering       CA(SA) with a previous career of over 25
with local universities, in five African    years in financial services in the UK and
countries. In 2016, with Germany’s          South Africa.
leading business school, ESMT Berlin,
Mark co-founded the “AIMS ESMT

Zeenat Hendricks
Zeenat Hendricks has over 9 years           has working experience in the corporate,
of experience in the world of social        university and agency environments.
justice. Currently she heads up the
communications department for Rape          Zeenat aspires to continue to grow and
Crisis Cape Town Trust, a non-profit        seek knowledge that will be beneficial
organization in the Western Cape that       not only to her, but to all the spaces
focuses on sexual violence and women’s      she finds herself in. She is creative,
rights. Her interest and experience         analytical and thrives off the energy of
expand over communications,                 others. She has a particular strength in
marketing, advertising, organisational      bringing projects and people together
development and a special interest in       and making sure that co-creation
the implementation and practice of          happens. She took part in a 12-month
social innovation within organisations.     Fellowship with the DG Murray Trust for
Her deep passion for strengthening          organisational innovation, in 2018.
communities through development
work drives everything she does. She also

Wangari Jane
Wangari Jane is an award-winning             to menstrual health management for
innovator, social entrepreneur,              pre-teen girls.
and transformer. She is passionate
about fixing societal challenges with        Wangari holds a BSC in Information
sustainable solutions that create lasting    Technology degree and an MBA, Global
impacts. Wangari is the founder of           Business and Sustainability Social
Girl Puberty, Lejan Energy Limited and       Entrepreneurship.
Caterpillar to Butterfly Entrepreneurship.
                                             She is a Lifelong learner committed to
She is a champion of girl child              staying on top of the best current and
empowerment, Menstrual Health, and           emerging business practices, especially
Hygiene Management. She is passionate        in an international context. Looking
about ending Period Poverty and              forward to learning the Human Centered
Period Ignorance. She empowers and           Design and strategic thinking approach
equips girls from under-privileged and       under the MPHIL Inclusive Innovation
marginalized backgrounds with Dignity        program.
Self-care kits and MHHM education. She
is the author of “Puberty Queen” a guide

Stacey Jansen
Stacey is the Co-Founder and Executive       services sector with a focus on
Director at REDISA NPC, South Africa’s       operations management. Stacey’s
first and only NPC to implement the          passion for community development
circular economy on a national scale,        saw her volunteer for organisations
through its waste tyre management            such as NICRO, CAFDA and Triple
plan. Under her leadership, the REDISA       Trust organisation. Her most recent
team were able to take the recovery          volunteer work saw her developing and
rate of tyres from 4% in 2012 to 98% in      implementing a distribution model for
2016 and create a waste tyre recycling       PPE to more than 30 000 community
industry of more than 279 SMMEs              health workers throughout South Africa.
supporting over 3500 jobs.                   Stacey lives in Cape Town with her
                                             husband; Grant and their 3 sons and
Her 30-year career has been                  dogs Louis and Floyd.
predominantly in the financial

Boineelo Khowe
Boineelo Khowe is a zealous individual,      Master of Arts in Development studies,
who aims to make a difference in             a Bachelor’s degree in project and
her community and nation. She has            Logistics Management, an Enterprise
extensive experience in the financial        Risk Management certificate. She is
sector – both banking and insurance.         passionate about learning languages,
She has experience in Business               and speaks and writes Mandarin Chinese
Strategy formulation and execution,          and is currently learning to speak French.
Organizational re-branding and project       Boineelo is passionate about working
implementation.                              with young people and has organized
                                             a number of youth summits that have
Boineelo is also a social entrepreneur,      been supported by the Office of the
Managing Masa Capital, a company             President and the Ministry of Youth
that provides strategic direction,           Sports and Culture in her country. She
training and asset finance to informal       loves reading and travelling.
businesses. Boineelo Khowe, has a

Thato Konstabole
Thato Konstabole has over 10 years as        He is motivated by socio-economic
a development professional and has           development that occurs in a sustainably
had a spell in the government sector,        managed environment and a business-
local and International NGOs. He has         minded individual striving to make
worked in Agriculture and livelihood         a difference in the world through
development, Disaster management             corporate philanthropy and Impact
and community resilience, Environment        Investing. He genuinely wants to
and Natural Resource Management, as          help those in the poverty pool and in
well as Policy Advocacy and lobbying. In     disadvantaged communities and wishes
2016, he joined the Lesotho Highlands        to accomplish this balancing act through
Development Authority (LHDA)-                social entrepreneurship. Thato holds
helping the LHDA in its responsibility of    a BSc in Agriculture from the National
improving the standard of living of the      University of Lesotho.
people affected by the Lesotho Highland
Water Project.

Asanda Madosi
Asanda Madosi is highly motivated and        robust creative systems and manage
acts as the COO at Ramalo. Asanda            the successful program delivery from
is an experienced researcher and             planning to execution.
development practitioner with expertise
in local and international development       Asanda is also a certified scrum product
& technology. They are a critical cultural   owner and holds various degrees,
practitioner, using interdisciplinary        certifications in Development Studies,
methods through research, marketing,         International Relations, and sociology.
design thinking and strategy to inform
or align a business strategy. Asanda
comes highly recommended to build

Sibulele Dawn Mlumbi
Sibulele Dawn Mlumbi is a qualified          of specialists amplify the public value of
Public Policy Specialist and                 existing private and public companies.
Entrepreneur. A Wits School of               Her long-held commitment to creating
Governance alumna, her core expertise        solutions that transform the landscape
lie in steering the governance and           of policy development in emerging
operational models of public and private     economies was honed through her
enterprises. This professional acumen is     Bachelors of Social Sciences in Politics &
expressed through Mlumbi Consulting          Governance Degree that she completed
Group, wherein she is the Founder and        at the University of Cape Town. She has
Director. Mlumbi Consulting Group is         considerable experience in management
a black-owned policy consultancy firm        consulting, having been commissioned
that delivers strategic management           by small and medium enterprises to
solutions to the public and private          develop and lead large-scale research
sector. By deploying solutions in the        projects that contribute to business
fields of public policy; strategic public    development operations. She joins            the intention to accelerate her capacity
management; monitoring & evaluation          the 2021 MPhil in Inclusive Innovation       as a business leader, innovator and
and service delivery, Dawn and her team      cohort as the youngest candidate, with       professional.

Tshwanelo Modise
Tshwanelo Modise is a Product Design           She has also held a position as a
expert with a passion for the power of         Design Lecturer at the University of
ideas. She is also a creative problem-         Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design
solver at heart and prides herself in          and Architecture.
crafting work that impacts people’s lives
positively.                                    Her portfolio includes brands such as
                                               Momentum, The Industrial Development
Tshwanelo completed her BA Honours             Corporation, Kimberly-Clark, MultiChoice,
in film and tv production, and spent           and Media24. In her 8 years of working
the early years of her career in the           experience, Tshwanelo has developed
advertising industry, where she built          business acumen, a heightened sense
effective social marketing campaigns           of leadership, and a stronger creative
for some of South Africa’s most loved          strategy muscle. Tshwanelo believes
brands. In addition to advertising             that creativity is a powerful tool in
experience, Tshwanelo has led product          solving complex business problems           research that effectively empowers
design teams in the financial services         and therefore hopes to focus her efforts    informal sector entrepreneurs who are
sector and in the tech start-up space.         on innovating systems and building          located in underserved communities.

Amantle Mokubung
Amantle Mokubung is a Marketing                Amantle regularly shares her marketing
Strategist and Future Females Business         expertise on Motsweding FM and is
School coach. Her career in marketing          a writer for Your Business Magazine.
spans over ten years, following the            She recently joined Harambee Youth
completion of a BA Degree in Marketing         Employment Accelerator as a Campaign
Communication at the AAA School of             Manager, a move which she deems
Advertising in 2010. She also holds a          as congruent with her passion for
Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing             achieving impact. In March 2020,
Management from the IMM Graduate               Amantle was selected as one of the top
School, a Professional Diploma in              20 candidates that were handpicked to
Digital Marketing from the Digital             participate in the prestigious Fellowship
Marketing Institute, a certificate in Social   for Organisational Innovation with DG
Entrepreneurship & Systems Change              Murray Trust.
from UCT GSB and a Digital Strategy
in Building Brands Certificate from the
Vega School of Brand Leadership.

Jacob Mtimkulu
Jacob Mtimkulu is an Economist who             He has extensive experience in industrial
is passionate about addressing socio-          and economic development, having
economic challenges, particularly              worked in the public sector for more
unemployment, poverty, and                     than five years.
inequalities, through innovative
programs. He is a determined achiever          Jacob holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
with exceptional knowledge of                  Economic Science, postgraduate
quantitative analysis, research and            qualifications in Business Administration
economic evaluation techniques. In 2015,       and Health Economics, and a Certificate
he was the semi-finalist of the Nedbank/       in Health Financing for Universal Health
Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition.          Coverage.

Juliet Nanfuka
Juliet Nanfuka holds a Bachelor of            tank on digital rights in Africa. She is
Journalism Degree from Rhodes                 involved in a range of digital inclusion
University, South Africa where she            projects and is interested in issues such
specialised in Writing and Digital Media.     as access to information, press freedom,
She has also completed a course on            identity and gender dynamics online,
Social Innovation Management with the         online content, digital taxation, and new
Amani Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. Juliet     economy.
is interested in the many intersections of
society, economy, media and technology.

She works with the Collaboration on
International ICT Policy for East and
Southern Africa (CIPESA), a leading think

Zakhona Ndlovu
Zakhona Ndlovu is an economic                 She holds an LLB and a Diploma in
transformation and empowerment                Insolvency Practice from the University
specialist with a focus on                    of Pretoria, a PGDip in Compliance
entrepreneurship and small business           Management from the University of
development. Her primary area                 Johannesburg and MBA from the
of interest is developing inclusive           Gordon Institute of Business Science.
expansion models for multinationals
across different jurisdictions with varying
transformation and local ownership
requirements.

Cliff Nkuna
Cliff Nkuma is the Managing Director of       context, he has worked on projects in
Acqumen Consulting, an Information            Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Technology (IT) consulting company            Swaziland and Lesotho.
that focuses on information security, IT
solution design and business process          He completed an entry level
optimisation.                                 programming course in 1996, which
                                              launched his career as a consultant
Cliff has managed a number of IT              with Accenture. After years of working
projects, implementing solutions within       on various projects, he enrolled for
various sectors including retail, media,      a Bachelor of Commerce Degree
utilities, mining, telecommunication,         in Information and Technology
hospitality, healthcare and financial         Management. He has an architectural
services. Some of these projects have         design hobby and completed a Diploma
included international travel to countries    in Multi-Disciplinary Drawing Office
such as Spain, Malaysia and the United        Practice to compliment his interest in
States of America. Within the African         real estate.

Mpho Ntholeng
Mpho Ntholeng is the Executive Director       and community development, growth,
of Kommunity Foundation. He is an             and sustainability. He is a Harvard
experienced development specialist            Business School Global Partner and
executive and entrepreneur who has            serves as a Director of The Desmond
significant knowledge in consulting,          Tutu Tutudesk Campaign Centre board.
strategy formulation and fundraising          Mpho has been the recipient of the SAB
in these areas. He was previously the         Young Entrepreneur Award and was
Executive Director of Development             inducted as an Endeavor Accelerator
Services within the Siyakha Group.            Entrepreneur.

Mpho has significant experience in            Mpho is married and has two children,
delivering projects across a wide sphere      is an art enthusiast, enjoys wine and
of influence and has managed across           cooking, and loves road-tripping with his
a national and regional portfolio to          friends and family.
create and implement strategies which
positively impact entrepreneurship

Iris Nxumalo-De Smidt
Iris Nxumalo-De Smidt increasingly            and research in 5 countries, across 3
identifies as a feminist systems innovator,   continents.
who leverages facilitation, research,
strategic grant-making, story-telling and     Iris holds an MSc in African Studies from
project management to support social          St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
justice and systems change.                   and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Peace
                                              and Security from the African Leadership
She is presently located in Cape Town,        Centre, King’s College London. Her
South Africa, working as an Innovation        formative higher education experiences
Manager at the DG Murray Trust (DGMT).        were at the University of Pretoria,
Her work seeks to advance the strategy        where she obtained, with distinction, a
to nurture an innovative and inclusive        Bachelor of Political Sciences (BPOLSCI)
society. Prior to joining DGMT, Iris          in International Studies and a BA
collectively spent six years supporting       (Honours) in International Relations as a
feminist development programming              Mandela-Rhodes Scholar.
and movement-building, teaching

Courage Nyamhunga
Courage Nyamhunga is an innovation            his experience with UNICEF as the
nomad who is peripatetic at best, and         Technology 4 Development/Innovation
enjoys being part of an interdisciplinary     Specialist where he managed mHealth
team of global problem-solvers, spread        and WASH projects with modest
across the globe and solving some of          budgets.
the world’s biggest challenges. He is
a curious reader and strategic thinker        He has worked across three offices, from
who is very uncomfortable working             the artificial harbours in Colombo, to
with bureaucracies to make change He          seeking shade under the Jacaranda
has a knack for understanding systems         trees in Harare and listening to the early
and dismantling them to install new           morning sounds of the Azan in Djibouti.
ones inspired by technology and is very       He has the ability to articulate and
good at building solid relationships with     communicate complex issues to a variety
skeptics through demonstrating the            of audiences across technical disciplines
value of his work and unpacking the           and to non-technical audiences and is a
‘innovation’ lingo. He possesses modest       multi-passionate, digital creative type. A     that ‘feedback loop’ in development and
competencies in program and portfolio         significant part of his work is figuring out   improve accountability mechanisms.
management, having built much of              how various digital tools can help close

Rudo Nyangulu
Rudo Nyangulu is passionate about            which she developed. Rudo has an
enterprise innovation and ICT4               interest in policy advocacy for private
Development which are areas she              sector development and job creation.
has worked in for a number of years          She has developed entrepreneurial
through Stimulus Africa, an enterprise       training tools for the African context and
development and business services            has contributed to the Open Society in
consulting firm Rudo founded in 2011         Southern Africa (OSISA)’s BUWA Journal
and is the executive director. Rudo is       (2017) and is a co-author of the Stimulus
an enterprise development practitioner       Enterprise Development Guide for
and a lawyer working both in the private     Frontier Market Economies (2017). She is
sector and in the development sector         an alumnus and fellow of the Mandela
with over 15 years of experience.            Washington Fellowship for Young African
                                             Leaders (YALI). Rudo holds an LLB (Hons)
She is a mentor and trainer/coach on         degree in Law from the University of the
the Stimulus PAP business modelling          West of England (UK).
incubator & accelerator programmes

Melvina Phillips
Melvina Phillips is a wife and mom           Her purpose is to live a life of significance
of two boys aged 7 and 3. She loves          and impact that is generational, leaving
the outdoors and appreciates the             a legacy that will outlive her. She
relationships she has been blessed           believes that people are not linear, but in
with, more so after a year like 2020.        fact are very dynamic. The beauty of this
She believes that all people matter          means that people have transformative
and is registered with the HPCSA as          power and can change. Melvina loves
a Registered Counsellor. Her area of         challenging limiting mindsets and
interest is predominantly in youth           thought patterns, thereby allowing
development because of the various and       people to create new narratives. She is
interesting changes taking place in the      hoping that the MPhil programme will
adolescent developmental phase and           challenge her in the very same way.
how the decisions in this phase often
influences the trajectory of these young
lives.

Shalen Reddy
Shalen Reddy is a performance                company performance data along with
consultant and has been with DStv for        streamlining operational workflows to
the past 14 years. He fulfilled many roles   meet client and company goals across
during this time from customer services      the Media and Telecommunications
to HR Learning and development where         industry.
he was instrumental in the development
and launch of DStv’s first E-Learning        Shalen has a BSocSc in Industrial
platform.                                    Organisational Labour Studies, HR (UCT),
                                             NMP (UCT) and a PGDip in Management
He thereafter took up the challenge          Practice (UCT GSB). He is a PGDip mentor
of being an agency performance               at the UCT GSB and Deputy Chair of
consultant managing DStv agencies            a community-based feeding scheme
across the Western and Northern Cape         providing hot meals to people of need in
which later included the retail sector.      and around Cape Town.
He is an accomplished professional
offering extensive experience analysing

Desire Ruhinda
Desire Ruhinda is a descendant of a        and early medical experience he realized
Rwandan immigrant mother and a             that he would save more lives and help
Tanzanian father. During his second year   the bigger population through tackling
of undergraduate at the Kilimanjaro        the source of the problem than at the
Christian Medical University, he was       doctor’s consulting room.
motivated to help the community tackle
the lack of awareness, accessibility       Accessibility to healthcare being of vital
and ignorance of healthy habits that       feedback, Desire is now the co-founder
resulted in most non-communicable          of Medikea, a healthtech startup that
diseases, through Kilisports. Kilisports   helps patients find doctors and book
is an organization that promotes           appointments remotely and order
healthy lifestyle through active           discounted medicines. His search for
sports participation and healthcare        more inclusive ways and accessible
accessibility.                             models of healthcare delivery to the
                                           African population is his motivation
After graduating medical school in 2019,   towards pursuing the MPhil programme.
combined with the data from Kilisports

Yusuf Ssessanga
Yusuf Ssessanga is Director of             which became RLabs Tanzania. RLabs
Innovation at Rlabs Tanzania,              addresses different community tensions
headquartered in Iringa, Southern          by developing innovative solutions
Tanzania. After his first degree in        through multi-faceted approaches. He
Horticulture from Sokoine University in    enjoys working in such an environment
Tanzania, Yusuf worked with different      that turns challenges into opportunities.
academic institutions for a few years      He was also involved in the founding
before founding Grandflora Ltd. The        of Team Academy, a learning-by-doing
difficulties in starting and running the   program at the University of Iringa.
company opened him to the passion          He believes the MPhil in Inclusive
of his life…helping the youth start and    Innovation will help him to create
grow businesses from scratch.              innovations that will impact the
                                           education sector in Tanzania, and
Yusuf, together with his colleagues        beyond.
founded Iringa Living Lab in 2012,

Mudinda Tshimbidi
Mudinda is a Management Consulting         DIY enthusiast. She is an aspiring social
Manager for a Fortune 500 global           innovator who continues to be involved
company and her role is focused on         in volunteerism across social enterprises
digital transformation and supply chain    and is passionate about social impact &
for natural resources sector clients       servant leadership. Mudinda’s favourite
around the world.                          role to date is that of wife, new mom,
                                           daughter and the 2nd of 5 siblings.
She is a Mining Engineer with experience
in leading teams for both underground
and opencast mining operations
for a large global mining company.
Mudinda is a creative at heart; lover of
adventure; self-proclaimed foodie and

Lesley Donna Williams
Lesley believes that everyone has the           Lesley is the CEO of Wits University’s
right to live their full potential regardless   Tshimologong Precinct that aims to
of the life they were born into. She is also    take African digital innovation to global
committed to the advancement of Pan-            markets through entrepreneurship and
African leadership. These pillars are the       skills development. She further serves
foundation of all her work.                     on Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s
                                                4IR and Digital Transformation Advisory
She has over 20 years international             Panel. Lesley founded Impact Hub
experience in curating innovation               Johannesburg in 2010 to advance social
ecosystems and networks with a primary          innovation in Africa.
focus on social and digital innovation.
As a facilitator of dialogue and change         Through the MPhil she looks forward
processes, she creates common ground            to meeting new, inspiring people and
between diverse public and private              mastering skills in pursuit of advancing
stakeholders.                                   meaningful work.

inclusive
innovation
mphil

 BECAUSE A NEW WORLD NEEDS NEW IDEAS

 www.gsb.uct.ac.za