William Kamkwamba is a Malawian inventor, entrepreneur and author. He rose to fame in 2001 after building a wind turbine to power multiple electrical appliances in his family’s house, using only blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard.His New York Times bestselling memoir, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, was also made into a Netflix film. He is now a Global Fellow for the design firm IDEO.org, and has worked with the WiderNet Project to develop programmes that bridge the gap between “knowing” and “doing” for young people in Malawi and across the world.

William will be joining our Dialogue Session and sharing his thoughts about to create shared value.

Yasmin Belo-Osagie is a co-founder of She Leads Africa, a digital platform that helps African women build their business, grow in their career and become financially independent. She graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in History and with a minor in Finance, and then an MBA from Stanford.

She started her career started as a business analyst at McKinsey before founding She Leads Africa in 2015 with Afua Osei, where she serves as the Chief Operating Officer.

Yasmin will be facilitating a Masterclass session on Innovations for Emerging Economies.

Sizwa Nzima is the co-founder of Iyeza Health, a specialist health company committed to changing the face of public health in South Africa.Iyeza Health was founded in 2013 with just one customer, Sizwe’s grandmother.

Today employs 18 staff members and is delivering much-needed medication to over 6 000 people in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, as well as creating employment for youth with basic skills. Now with the partnership of Siraaj Adams , Iyeza Health has become a health logistics company focused on supporting health systems currently in existence, strengthening and enhancing health programme sustainability over time in local communities.

Sizwe will be sharing his thoughts about medical and health tech in a Masterclass session on Innovations for Emerging Economies.

Thandeka Xaba is an Allan Gray Fellow and co-founder and Managing Partner at Digital Africa Ventures.

Thandeka holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Finance and Accounting from the University of Cape Town. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Investec Bank Limited, where she spent five years gaining a combination of credit, Africa lending and investment banking experience Thandeka is the founder of an on-demand beauty tech startup, GlamAlly, and Tariro Foundation, a youth development NPO. Through these ventures she fulfills her passion to use entrepreneurship for positive change.

Thandeka is joining us in a Masterclass session on AGOF Community Leads.

Melvyn Lubega is a trained actuary, an Allan Gray Fellow, and experienced technology entrepreneur.

Melvyn joined the Boston Consulting Group as one of their first consultants in Sub-Saharan African in 2011, following a brief stint at Goldman Sachs in London. He then went on to co-found Go1, a world leader in online corporate training solutions which been recognised on both the Deloitte Fast500 list of the world’s fastest-growing companies, as well as the Disrupt100 list of the world’s most disruptive companies. Go1 has received over US$80m in investment from Microsoft, Salesforce, SEEK, Oxford University and Y-Combinator among others.
Melvyn holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town and postgraduate degrees from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was honoured by Forbes in their 30 under 30 list for his work as a businessperson. He is also a global thought leader and invited speaker on digital transformation, disruptive innovation, the future of the workforce, as well as business strategy.

Melvyn will be joining us for an AGOF Community Leads Masterclass on Intrapreneurship: Forging a Path From Within.

Dr Lindsay Kelland is a feminist philosopher and senior lecturer at the Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics at Rhodes University.

Lindsay works on the transformation of pedagogy within ethics, philosophy, and education more broadly.She is also dedicated to understanding and problematising what it means to live as gendered beings in a patriarchal and heteronormative South Africa—particularly insofar as this relates to the problems of sexual and gender-based violence. She has published numerous articles in this area and over the years, her research and activism have come into closer contact.

In 2015, she was a joint recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award for her work with the Siyahluma project, and she is now part of an international research team focusing on the power of collective storytelling in the recovery of survivors of gender-based violence.

Lindsay will be sharing her thoughts on values-based leadership in a Future Focus Masterclass.

Sinovuyo Xakabantu is a Grade 11 Scholar at St Cyprian’s School in the Western Cape, and elected Head Girl of the School for 2021.

Sinovuyo  is warmly known by Sino by those around her, and while she is a passionate academic and thrives on achieving her goals, she enjoys numerous activities including sports, community service and cultural commitments. You only need to look at her schedule to understand how busy she is. She considers herself well rounded and open to learning and acquiring new skills.

She is always one to motivate people to step outside their comfort zone while true to themselves. Her passion for excellence has led her to receiving an award in Full Academic Colours and although she was not able to attend, early this year she received acceptance to the Yale Young Global Scholars Summer Programme in the United States of America.

Sino will be joining a panel of Scholars to talk about the initiatives they are leading at a Masterclass on AGOF Community Leads.

Adrian Gore started Discovery in 1992 and is a household name in South Africa for having turned traditional insurance on its head.

Discovery was founded with a simple and profound core purpose – to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. Today, the organisation is a global insurer, and HealthTech and FinTech powerhouse – with a footprint in 24 markets through partnerships with leading global insurers and with over 20 million members under its care.

Most lauded for creating a new insurance category through Vitality Shared-Value Insurance, Discovery’s business model incentivises healthier living and links this to the price of insurance – Discovery is a truly global success story emerging from South Africa, with Adrian considered a uniquely inspiring purpose-led innovator and leader.

Adrian will be delivering a keynote address on Friday 25 September.

Mpho Chinowe is a 15-year old social entrepreneur from KwaZulu Natal.

Mpho is energetic Grade 9 girl who has big dreams of uplifting her family and community. She has taken an active role in her community to learn about permaculture practices, water quality and scarcity and climate change, empowering her family and neighbours to make eco-brick furniture stools and to start a permaculture garden. Seeing the challenges people in her community face in terms of food security, she decided to start a business of securing food by supplying organic vegetables and eggs closer to home, rather than having to travel 18 kilometres to the nearest town.

Mpho will be sharing her story about youth entrepreneurship at the Masterclass on Innovations for Emerging Markets.

Dion Chang is a strategic thinker, keynote speaker and one of South Africa’s most respected trend analysts.

Dion Chang is the founder of Flux Trends, which specialises in identifying unexpected business opportunities within shifting trends, and the impact of disruptive technologies-across all industries-ensuring that global trends have relevance when translated for African, and South African businesses. Dion is passionate about assisting companies embrace change and embedding a culture of innovation into corporate operating systems. He has a deep passion for youth trends and subcultures, as well as for solution-based innovation for greater good. He is an intrepid traveller, global citizen and proud South African.

Dion will be delivering a Masterclass session on Future Focus.

Dineo Lioma is an Allan Gray Fellow, co-founder and COO of of CapeBio Technologies, a biotechnology company that develops reagent enzymes used for DNA analysis.

Dineo hold an MPhil in Micro and Nanotechnology Enterprise, a BSc in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Together with her business partner and AGOF Fellow, Daniel Ndima, CapeBio has developed a COVID-19 test kit which is aimed at assisting South Africa to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Africa is currently an importer of these enzymes; their ambition is to build a world-leading biotechnology company. Dineo is also the co-founder of Deep Medical Therapeutics, a medical technology company building artificially intelligent solutions for the healthcare industry.

Dineo will be sharing her insights in a Road Less Travelled Masterclass session.

Prof Thuli Madonsela is the former Public Protector of South Africa, former Full-Time Law Commissioner and current Chair of Social Justice and founder of the Thuma Foundation for Democracy Leadership and Literacy.

Prof Madonsela has an extensive background in applied administrative law principles mainly based on her public service years and investigating improper conduct in state affairs. She was one of the drafters of the Constitution and a key participant in the conceptualization and drafting of several laws, including the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. Prof Madonsela also helped draft a number of international human rights instruments and country reports. She currently teaches constitutional law, administrative law, social justice law and democracy and has written and published extensively on these matters.

Prof Madonsela will be delivering a keynote address on Ethical Leadership (For Common Good).

Nozipho Tshabalalaisa Conversation Strategist moderating global conversations that are designed to have measurable outcomes. She is in demand for her unique and insightful lability to facilitate difficult conversations with courage, depth, and breadth.

As an internationally acclaimed conference moderator and Human Capital Advocate for The World Bank and Global Citizen, she has successfully moderated conversations for global and African institutions including, leading listed and unlisted multinational corporations, business schools, and civil society organisations that seek to leverage conversations for change.

Nozipho is also an award-winning financial markets broadcaster lifting the African business story through the lens of leadership, performance, the political economy, development finance, gender mainstreaming, and youth development. Nozipho is a faculty member for Duke Corporate Education in Africa, a fellow of the Gordan Institute for Business Science’s Centre for African Management and Markets (CAMM), a Tutu fellow, and Executive Director of LRMG. In 2019 she was named as one the Top 100 Most Influential Young Africans and most recently as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Young South African’s.

She is an alumni of the following academic institutions:
•Saïd Business School, Oxford (Tutu Fellow)
•University of London (Masters in International Studies)
•Stellenbosch Business School (Masters in Development Finance–cum laude)
•University of Pretoria (Hons: International Relations)

Anthony is CEO of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Africa, responsible for the execution of the Gray family philanthropy across the continent. Previously, he was the founding CEO of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. Prior to this Anthony co-founded the Starfish Greathearts Foundation in 2001. He is qualified as a CA (SA) and Chartered Financial Analyst.

Graeme’s breadth of knowledge and expertise makes him highly relevant –  essential – in today’s rapidly evolving business world. Along with his formal qualifications and research credentials, he also has a wide range of personal experience and a deep understanding of how people and business work. Now add his vast experience working with business leaders the world over during the past 20+ years, and you’ll understand why he is the go-to resource for leaders who are gearing up for the future.

That’s why CEOs in 50+ countries insist on working with him, year in and year out. It’s also why he continues to lecture at leading business schools on three continents, and why he gets invited to speak to 100,000+ conference delegates around the globe annually.

Lesedi is a goal-driven individual who is passionate about technology and business.

Growing up in the small town of Alberton in Gauteng, he has always been interested in starting his own technology company particularly in the Automotive Industry and that interest is what made him have an entrepreneurial mindset as a youngster and cross paths with the Foundation in 2016. He is currently a Year Experience Candidate Fellow and the Co-Founder of a health platform named NiceHealth. He is in the process of completing his final year of BCom Economics at the University of Pretoria and is a Golden Key Award recipient. His favourite quote is: “Making your mark on the world is hard, if it were easy everyone would do it but it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way.” by Barack Obama.

Precious is a student at the University of Witwatersrand and year Engage in the foundation. She is studying a BSc in Urban and Regional Planning and is passionate about people and animals.

Her hobbies include cooking with her mom and baking with her dad, and she loves learning new things. The challenges she has faced have shaped the woman she is and is becoming. She is excited to be part of DigiJam as she is always looking forward to Jamboree.

Mvelo Hlophe is the Founder and CEO of Zaio which is a gamified online learning platform that teaches anyone how to code through company-specific learning journeys.

He is a BCom Politics, Philosophy and Economics graduate from the University of Cape Town and a Candidate Fellow. Mvelo is the inaugural National Student Entrepreneur of the Year and Student Social Impact Business of the Year winner. His purpose is to democratize access to opportunity and is a consultant around digital transformation within organisations. His current work includes helping young entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses from ideation through to commercialisation.

Lindiwe Maqasha is a 16 year old scholar who attends Rhenish Girls High School in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. She enjoys long runs and writing. She thinks of herself as someone who likes to do a bit of reading sometimes but not as much as she should. Her aspirations are to change the way the world sees Africa and the way Africa sees itself. She would love to be the change Africans need.

Lindiwe’s entrepreneurial journey started when she joined the scholarship programme 4 years ago as a Grade 8 learner. Her entrepreneurial mindset and passion for the community led Lindiwe to 1St Place in the 2020 Teen Entrepreneur COVID-19 Idea Challenge.

Phumi Morare has a bachelor’s degree in finance from UCT and a master’s degree in film production from Chapman University, California. She has worked in finance at Goldman Sachs in London and in management consulting at McKinsey & Company in Johannesburg. Phumi has worked as a junior producer at a South African film company. During her masters degree, she worked part-time at Day Zero Productions (Trevor Noah’s LA production company) and Plan B Entertainment (Brad Pitt’s LA production company). Phumi is currently part of the strategy team at an incubator for African women filmmakers called Statement Films.

Batandwa “TAKEZITO” Alperstein is a unique mix of cultures, disciplines and aptitudes that have led him to be attracted to the fringe where original ideas and trends are created, in a search for new ways of understanding identity, community and healing.

His double Honours in B.Bus.Sci Economics at UCT and then Brand Leadershipa at VEGA led him to a career in advertising as a strategist, then copywriter until he finally gave into his love for moving pictures to pursue the press play future of film. Now, with SAFTA-nominated TV shows for MTV base under his belt & having created breakthrough popular culture work for major global platforms such as Hypebeast & TIDAL; and having worked with artists such as Cassper Nyovest, Nadia Nakai & Damian Marley, he is a unique & versatile director & producer that is primed for the new era of branded content. Batandwa is an Allan Gray Fellow and current MFA student at AFDA.

Alexandra is currently a Bachelor of Business Science Finance & Economics student at the University of Cape Town.

In addition to being a student, Alexandra has always had a passion for entrepreneurship and solving problems. Her entrepreneurial journey first began in 2016 with a company by the name of Equinetendon.com. Since then, Equinetendon.com has grown from a small start up with a few clients to a multinational company with a global presence. As time progressed and her interests moved towards Regenerative Medicine & Health care, Alexandra went on to co-found Regenesis Vet-  a company which has developed the first commercially-available systemic regenerative equine treatment derived fully from a unique system of processing autologous blood. Since then, Alex has also founded medical device company Novita Biotechnology which focuses on manufacturing, distributing & exporting affordable niche healthcare products. Through these ventures, Alexandra has been been able pursue her passion to of providing affordable innovation to as many people as possible.

Chimwemwe Phiri is 19 years old in her first year, studying an LLB. She is an Allan Gray Candidate Fellow. Three words to describe herself: Outspoken, goal-oriented and resilient. Her hobbies include Reading, Acting, Singing-even though she doesn’t do it in public, Cooking and Binge watching movies and shows.

She is passionate about a lot of things, but the most important is helping others and impacting their lives in a positive manner. She has been fortunate enough to be with the Foundation since Grade 8, and throughout our journey the foundation has helped her grow exponentially. She is not certain what her career path looks like, but one thing she knows is that she would love to combine law and international relations. Whether it be having her own law firm or being the Representative of South Africa to the United Nations/African Union, She can see herself doing it all. Her dreams and goals are infinite and the Foundation has helped her realize that she has the potential to achieve it all.

Kevin Leathem is a former teacher at Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg where he was also the Deputy Principal in charge of student affairs. He is currently the National Transformation Manager for the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and a board member of the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Education Practice and Research. Kevin is passionate about leadership development where his aim is to challenge outdated leadership styles, in traditional South African schools, by focussing on redefining masculinity, challenging patriarchal structures, and celebrating diversity.  He is a father of two and married to Tammy Bechus with whom he wrote the article “The P-word: Privilege”.

Leaveil joined Allan Gray in 2009 and is a client relationship manager in the Strategic Markets department. He previously held roles in the Client Service Centre and the Private Clients department.

Ndabenhle was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Johannesburg, attending Rivonia Primary School and then subsequently Redhill high school.

He studied Accounting with an honours in Tax at the University of Cape Town and completed his studies in 2014. Throughout his university career he developed a strong passion for web and mobiles development, which was entirely self-learnt. He went on to work as a software engineer for 2 years before embarking on his next challenge, Pineapple. Pineapple is an app-based, digital, peer-to-peer insurance offering available both on iOS and Android app stores. Pineapple was founded by Ndabenhle, alongside his co-founders Marnus Van Heerden and Matthew Smith. The Pineapple insurance model is completely decentralised; premiums paid are deposited into each member’s individual Pineapple Wallet. Members get full insurance cover by depositing this premium. When a claim occurs, all wallets contribute in a small way to help pay the claim. All deposits not used can be withdrawn annually. This represents a new way of doing insurance, one which ensures a significant amount of value and transparency back to the customer. Ndabenhle diplomatic approach, problem solving ability and detailed thought process keeps the Pineapple team focused on the tasks at hand without losing sight of things to come.

Founder and CEO of Fineazy. Ambitious South African, ex-BCG consultant, LBS MBA and high-impact entrepreneur: resilient in my quest to have a positive impact on the world, and passionate about financial inclusion and the power of technology to enable education in developing countries. Currently solving financial inclusion’s nemesis – that the majority of people around the world don’t understand basic financial concepts – by innovating the content, delivery mechanism and business model behind effective financial literacy education.

Fineazy delivers a sustainable business solution to address the global financial illiteracy crisis so all people are educated and empowered to make excellent financial decisions.

Our business falls under, community development, and it is called the Thusang Community Outreach. The Outreach is ran by a group of teenagers, and what we do is we get unprivileged children from around the village of Phokeng in the city of Rustenburg and we take them to our school which is, Lebone II College of the Royal Bafokeng. What we then do is that we will help and educate them on some studies which their schools don’t offer such as IT, DT and PE, and there what we do is we split them into groups and each group rotates at each activity. Once they are done we give them food which is provided by the community Outreach. The way we make money is that we have fundraisers and from the fundraisers the money made we take it and go buy t-shirts which we them embroid our business name on them and then we sell those t-shirts to make another income. We also run on donations and we as the teenagers where we can if we have money we saved we usually donate it to the Outreach.

Dr Sindi was born and bred in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her mother was from KZN and her father from Zimbabwe. She moved to South Africa to study medicine at the University of Pretoria. She has always known she wanted to help people and at the tender age of 4 knew it would be by being a medical doctor. Today Dr Sindi is “multi-passioned” with medicine as her first love, radio broadcasting her second love and a combination of social media and writing a close third. On Monday to Thursday from 7 – 8pm, Dr Sindi hosts “Sidebar with Sindi” on Johannesburg’s KayaFM – Home of the Afropolitan and has been a columnist for Bona Magazine since July 2014, penning “Dear Dr Sindi“.

Dr Sindi practices as a medical GP on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10h00 – 14h30 at the acclaimed Arwyp Medical Suites in Kempton Park and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Docs4Health in Bedfordview (19 Bradford Road) from 09h30 – 14h30, both accepting all medical aids. Dr Sindi is also a renowned public speaker, with a passion to inspire and educate through the power of her diverse experiences. From dealing with tragedy, medical advancements in primary care to mental wellness, she has extensive experience in driving both public and corporate messages through clearly and effectively.

Kiara is currently in her final year of Matric at Collegiate Girls High School in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. She was born and raised in Port Elizabeth where she has lived all her life. Her current accolades include being the elected Deputy Head Girl at the boarding house and school prefect and finally a member of the School Governing Body. However, her most outstanding achievement while on the Scholarship programme, she was voted the winner of the Emerging Entrepreneur Award at Jamboree 2019. Her future ambitions is to become a high impact responsible entrepreneur driven by passion for her community and country at large. She hopes to achieve this through creating a thriving economic status and her desire for a healthier living environment.

Sebusang uses his background in accountancy to manage and set strategy for the uses of funds that will position CUMI MEDIA for the completion of its objectives. He is responsible for managing finances and maintaining financial records during film or TV production, working closely with executive producers on projects. In addition to being a financial director, Sebusang is devoted to writing articles providing insights in the spheres of entrepreneurship, personal finance, and the economy from an African perspective, while exploring best-practices around the world. Sebusang became an Allan Gray Fellow in 2020.

My name is Wandile Khumalo. I’m from Dundee in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal. I’m 23-year-old doing a BSc in Statistics and Computer Science at the University of Johannesburg. I’m a proud Allan Gray Candidate Fellow. I’m the co-founder of Mind Your Math. A premium online mathematics platform that offers rich content for a matric mathematics student. I’m a social entrepreneur with a vision of empowering the powerless the best way I know how: educationally, mathematically and technologically. With a history of tech development that spans 7 years and having had internationally recognized tech-projects (Including a gold medal at the Genius Olympiad in New York ), I aim to change the world in my life time. One innovative idea at a time.

Arnold is the founder of and CEO Ghea.co.za which provides digital solutions for Private Security operations. Arnold has immense experience in startup development with a particular focus on Business to Business & Software as a Service startups.He is a member of the World Economic Forum global shaper community and a Ryerson Digital Media Zone Fellow.

Tsepang Khoboko is a 23-year-old hailing from Welkom in the Free State.

She is passionate about creating and improving access particularly towards Africa’s development and women realising their dreams. As a University of Cape Town BScEng in Chemical Engineering graduate, she is currently working as a Process Engineer in Training and is enjoying that very much. Additionally, she is a Social Entrepreneur and has co-founded a Start-up called TAQA which seeks to improve access to knowledge by removing the language barrier through digital media. She is also a founder of I KNOW – YOU KNOW a knowledge sharing platform for all things careers, life after high school as well as opportunities that are available. The vision is for the platform to empower, via knowledge, each South African to make informed decisions regarding their career and future.

Khethiwe Sibanyoni is a 20 year old student, entrepreneur, philanthropist and Gender-Based Violence Activist.

She lives a life of purpose and believes she has been called to serve others.

Senyo is a software engineer passionate about leveraging technology to create solutions that improve the world around us. He works at Aerobotics, a startup building the next generation of smart technology for the agriculture industry. He graduated from UCT at the end of 2019 with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. In his spare time, Senyo enjoys playing around with new technology and writing about it, listening to copious amounts of music and spending time in Cape Town’s beautiful outdoors.

Sindiso Nyoni is a Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) born, self developed Graphic artist who has been described as a contemporary illustrator, activist, street-artist, and multi-disciplinary graphic designer. He obtained a BTech degree in Graphic Design from the University of Johannesburg and has worked as an illustrator and art director in the South African advertising sector.

Also known as R!OT, his work has been published locally; exhibited at International Biennial Poster Exhibitions and he has collaborated on projects which have won Cannes Lion awards. The Johannesburg based graphic artist, tackles some of Africa’s most pressing issues in the form of visual art. His work primarily consists of a pencil, ink, pastels, gauche, acrylic and digital media fusion, to create a subversive ‘street’ style. His work has been showcased locally as well as far afield as New York, London, Berlin, Madrid, Teneriffe, Zagreb, The Vitra Design Museum, The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, and The Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.

With a portfolio that comprises local and international brands, he is a member of The South African Mint Design Advisory Panel, The Loerie Awards Communication Design judging jury for 2018 & 2017, has been part of the Design Indaba mentorship programme, The Botswana based Ideas Expo judging jury for 2014, The African representative for Icograda’s 50th/World Communication Design Day showcase 2013, as well as an ISS (International Security Studies) Alumni from the African Centre for Peace & Security Training in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

Courtney is a creative on her worst days and a holistic activist on her best. Having a degree in Politics and Governance, with an Honours in Gender and Transformation with special focus on decolonial education and intersectionality, she can be found anywhere from curating artistic engagements of these issues, to teaching, and pitching ideas to investors in order to address issues that affect the most vulnerable members of society.

With a keen focus on solving problems that affect the intersectional realities of people in her community and the South African community at large, she focuses her writing, research and teaching around radical justice and inclusivity, narratives of healing through unlearning and relearning history and the decolonial imagining of futures, Courtney’s writing, research and creative outputs engages the youth across the spectrum of privilege and disenfranchisement. Having spent a year in Australia as the recipient of the MGS Placement scholarship as an assistant teacher, coach and special needs tutor, she spent time engaging indigenous activism and drawing parallels between our histories and experiences of aboriginal communities, particularly youth groups in Melbourne, Alice Springs and Darwin.

As an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Scholar and Graduate Fellow of the Allan Gray Association, her focus on high impact leadership and entrepreneurially minded innovation is supported and inspired by the incredible network of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and the mentorship she provides young black scholars navigating elite spaces of education in South Africa, particularly in the Eastern and Western Cape. Having worked in the NPO space , focused on upskilling and equipping young people on the Cape Flats with basic computer literacy and activating change through confidence building as a pillar of academic excellence, Courtney integrates intersectional consciousness into every aspect of her work. It’s about going beyond positionality and the matrix of domination through which society functions, and scaffolding narratives through creative outputs that tell authentic, honest stories that center Afrikan plurality, disrupting monolithic ideas of what it means to be a young Afrikan person in the decolonial moment.

Courtney is currently the creative and conceptual resident writer and researcher at the C Institute, where she works closely with multi-disciplinary experienced futurists focused on using design thinking methodology to transform institutions through creative narration and conscious discourse.

Lulutho Ngcongolo hails from East London, South Africa currently studying towards a Bachelor of Music specializing in Composition and Cultural Policy Management at the Wits University in Johannesburg. He is a composer, arranger, performer and arts administrator who has performed as part of the South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation, the South African Youth Choir as well as many other ensembles across the country.

He is currently involved with the recording and launch of his debut EP ‘A Life of My Own Design’ which will be through his own recording and publishing label, ZWELIBANZI PRODUCTION and ZWELIBANZI MUSIC PUBLISHING.

Head of Social Investing at the FirstRand Group, Bongiwe is an accomplished executive and business leader, with substantial success leading in multi-million-rand Agricultural Policy, FMCG operations and development initiatives in the public, private and international NGO sectors. She has held various leadership positions at Tiger Brands, SAB and the National Department of Agriculture amongst others, as well as an independent consultant between 2014 and 2018. She has written and co-authored several agricultural-based publications and has held multiple national and global board memberships. Bongiwe holds a MSc in Agricultural Engineering (Vassil Kolarov, Bulgaria) and a post-graduate diploma in Strategic Project Management (University of Liverpool, UK). She has completed the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Sustainability Leadership Programme and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network as well as a Fellow of the Inaugural Class of the Africa Leadership Initiative, South Africa.

Ernest is a creative entrepreneur, and, for him, no two days are the same.  He is a creative director at a digital agency (represented by OCB Original Creative Breed).  His upbringing and cultural influences will always be the prism through which he sees the world: He is proud to have grown up in K1 and, in the same breath, was lucky enough to have attended one of the top boys’ schools in the country. This opened a completely new world; having to govern the dynamics of both worlds and finding his voice in both realms had a profound effect on his worlds’ view. It’s made him the unique creative he is today.  Ernest grew up in Katlehong, Nhlapo section (K1). He always wanted to be a filmmaker; his parents took him to see ‘Sarafina’ at the Paragon — it was the first film he saw where the people looked like him, spoke like him and the locations looked like where he lived. Seeing people react to what was on screen completely moved him and he wanted to be a part of that; whatever magic was that moved in that auditorium on that day he knew that he wanted that.

By far, one of his biggest career highlights was being in the Oscar and Golden Globe race as South Africa’s official entry in the 2015 edition for the beautifully crafted ‘Thina Sobabili’. He travelled the world campaigning for the win, heights a kid from K1 could not even fathom.

Ernest believes that transformation needs a new narrative: it needs to hear ‘The Odd Number’s’ narrative; it needs to hear ‘Avatar’s’ narrative; it needs to hear ‘Black Powder’s’ narrative. Their success stories will inspire creatives to see that it’s possible and, if more creatives who look like him and talk like him from places that look like where he grew up think it’s possible, clients will start to think maybe their brand will be served better by people who look like the people they’re trying to build affinity with.

Winford Collings is an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellow, who started his journey with the Foundation in 2010 as a Scholar. He completed his BCom Accounting and PGDA degrees at the University of Cape Town, and is currently completing his CA(SA) articles at Pick n Pay

Currently serving as a Subwarden, Red Bull Student Brand Manager, Rhodes University Marimba Society Chairperson, Student Leader of Ikamva Youth Tutoring and as a delegate on the Rhodes University Board of Residences. He has been awarded with the prestigious Rhodes Investec Top 100 Award for Excellence in Community Engagement, a Gold Award Recipient for Outstanding Contribution to Community Engagement and a Top 10 Finalist for Student Volunteer of the Year 2019. His respect, humility and love for people underpin all the interactions he has with people. There is much work that needs to be done and through collaborative effort, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

I originate from Cradock in the Eastern Cape. Currently in Matric at Grey High School in Port Elizabeth. Those close to me also know me as Amahle and I am a proud Allan Gray Scholar. I am confident, very social and deeply invested in making the world a better place through Education and job creation. I work hard and I focus on my goals. My dream is to become a Chartered Accountant and run my own firm. While I have been on the programme, I have achieved full colours for academics and earned myself the prestigious White blazer. In2019 I was elected a senior Leader in the cadet detachment. Other achievements have included being the Chair at the Speakers Club at Grey High. In addition to the above achievements I have been given a firm offer by UCT to study Accounting in 2021as well as a conditional offer to study at the University of Stellenbosch. My current goal is to Pass my Matric with Distinctions and make it into the Allan Gray Fellowship Programme.

Vusi is a business speaker who empowers his audience with new knowledge, research findings and tools that they can immediately apply in their business or careers to achieve “step-change” results.

At 25, Vusi ran a R400mn division in a R17bn multi-national and today is widely regarded as one of the most disruptive forces in venture capital in Africa. Vusi was amongst the youngest directors of a listed company in South Africa and now serves on several boards. Currently, Vusi is the CEO of a boutique investment & advisory firm in Africa. Leading by example, his firm forces medium, large and listed businesses into much needed and lucrative new directions.
Having graced the covers of Entrepreneur Magazine, with features on Forbes and Inc500, Vusi’s social media engagement often mirrors that of a Rockstar.