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On Monday 23 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide 21-day lockdown that will be implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19. To safeguard the most vulnerable in our society from the potential economic ramifications of the lockdown, the government has set up a Solidarity Fund. The Fund will enable well-off South Africans and businesses to contribute towards the provision of muc...

ALI’s March Dialogue in Cape Town was entitled: “Eskom through the gloom: placing the Constitution at the centre of the reform discussion”. Unusually for any conversation involving Eskom, the Dialogue was largely uplifting. This had nothing to do with good news, regrettably, but arose from the refreshed awareness of the quality of goodwill that is being brought to solving the problem by a b...

We are the digging stars. It is time to invest in the harvest of tomorrow. We are the leaders who will light up the night with a promise of plenty, We are the renewal we seek. We are the herald of freedom that marks Africa Day. We are all digging stars. IsiLimela or the Pleiades were the ‘digging stars’, whose appearance in southern Africa warned of the coming need to begin hoeing the...

The 2020 AIF was the 2nd edition of the forum where Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) Fellows from across the African continent gathered to deeply connect, engage and recommit on matters of significance to the continent. The Forum aimed to deepen the pool of influential, effective and ethical leaders across Africa, who assume personal and collective accountability for the “Good Society”, by ...

The Youth Panel on Leadership vs Systems brought in new energy into the plenary sessions, with provocative ideas and new narratives from the panellists. Expertly moderated by one of Ghana’s leading journalists, Bernard Avle, the conversation sought to surface how these young people were seeing the tension between leadership and systems in their respective areas of work and their thoughts on how...

The AIF 2020 took place in Accra, Ghana, from the 26th to the 29th of February. ALI Fellows from South Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Mozambique came together to connect and engage on matters of significance regarding the continent. This year’s theme was Building to Last: Leadership vs. Systems. YALI Fellow Rorisang Tshabalala shares his thoughts on the youth panel discussion that took pl...

I feel a bit like I’ve been Alice in wonderland these last few days; not least of all because I drank way too much tea and lost track of time completely as if at the mad hatter’s table for too long. As I stood on the deck awaiting a new set of strangers who were suddenly my mirror, the words of Paul the apostle from the Bible swirl in my head – I am the least of these. I am too broken to be...

On Tuesday, 3 March, Statistics South Africa released data showing that South Africa has entered a technical recession in the latter half of 2019, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. This provides an important contextual reference point for Minister Tito Mboweni’s Budget Speech, delivered on the 26th of February. As a nation, we are in year three of operation ‘restore ...

By now, we all have the image of the coronavirus in our minds. It floats like a weapon from World War 2. A mine to destroy ships along with the trade and people they carry. Fear seems to be driving decisions of governments and individuals instead of good risk assessments. This is because we really do not have all the information we need, and the longer-term impact is not yet measurable. The disea...

In 1998, Coleman Andrews was appointed by Saki Makozoma to turn SAA around. Two years later, he left with an after-tax payment of US$29m (R500m today) as well as a portion of the R200m paid to Bain (a consultancy he founded) and appointed to SAA. He also spent R118m on nine expatriate managers. Coleman and company left SAA – having achieved what he was contracted to do – bereft of a susta...

We are honoured to announce that veteran financial journalist and ALI Media Fellow Sikonathi Mantshantsha is the new spokesperson for Eskom. The appointment was officially announced on Wednesday, the 22nd of January 2020. Sikonathi, who has spent over 15 years writing about the power utility, will be leading its media liaison team; a role he will take up on the 1st of February 2020. Speaking on t...

The African Spelling Bee was founded by ALI Fellow Roger Dickinson in 2015. Currently, 15 African countries participate in the spelling bee, these include Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The African Spelling Bee was started with the vision of celebrating the African Child, inspiring them ...

2019 has been an intense year. In terms of our political, economic, environmental and social contexts, it has often been a year of painful attrition of the good. Most in the news, perhaps, has been the impact of the accelerating implosion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), in particular Eskom and SAA. Political credibility has been as badly hit as business confidence. The results of the political...

Dear ALI Fellows, By now, some of you would have heard about the passing of Ali Mufuruki, the Founder and Chairman of Africa Leadership Initiative East Africa. Ali left us in the early hours of Sunday morning at the Morningside Clinic in Sandton, Johannesburg. My condolences to Ali’s family; Saada and daughters, Leila, Zahra, Sofia, and son Tighenye. We share the deep pain that you are feeling ...

In September, ALI’s Class 10 Fellows had their second reunion at the idyllic Miarestate Hotel in the Eastern Cape. The Fellows spent time engaging in thought-provoking conversations, which were guided by readings that included A Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan, On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, and Wide Open by Dawna Markova. The main topic of discussion was state-owned enterprises...

Remgro-controlled telecoms group Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), the parent company of Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel, has appointed ALI Fellow Raymond Ndlovu as CEO. CIVH has ambitious growth plans, and Ndlovu’s primary role is to drive a diversified wholesale, open-access ICT infrastructure business. He knows the business well, as he has been investment executive and a manageme...

We’re living in interesting times. As much as the reformist agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing back the forces of state capture, those forces in turn are fighting back against reforms that will cut off their access to power and riches. At November’s Dialogue in Johannesburg, ALI Fellow Ferial Haffajee explored the headlines. View Gallery Is the fightback on the back foot? What a...

Scientists predict the first person to live to 200 has already been born. “Just imagine what you could achieve…” muses Lesedi Ndaba, the world’s first 200-year-old, blowing out her birthday candles in 2218, in a Sanlam advertisement. But in what state – mentally or physically – will we be when we hit the 200-year mark? In his expeditions around the globe, journalist Ban Buettner [1] ...

In October, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) announced its new board, after a scrupulous review of its governance structures. ALI Fellow Tsakani Maluleke (Class VII: Dinatla) has been appointed to serve as the new chairperson of the board. SAICA’s mandate is to serve the interests of the chartered accountancy profession by upholding professional standards and integr...

South Africa has lost a literary disrupter, political activist and an ardent beacon of love, power, hope and truth. Sandile Dikeni passed away on Sunday, 10 November 2019. He was celebrated for being a prominent storyteller whose familiarity with racism, poverty and exclusion enabled him to use his words as ammunition to speak against the behemoth that was the apartheid regime.  Born in Victoria...

South Africa’s National Health Insurance Bill (the NHI Bill) continues to evoke a fierce public discourse. October’s ALI Dialogue brought together ALI Fellows and medical systems experts, Dr Malixole Percy Mahlathi (Class V: Mayihlome) and Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba (Class I: Inaugural Class), to lead the discussion about what the NHI Bill means for us and the health sector overall. View Gallery &nbs...

As a member of a global network of industry pioneers in the private and public sector, and civil society, we value the act of honouring all Fellows of the Aspen network. This month, we would like to recognise and highlight the achievements of Dr Arturo Condo, a Fellow of the Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI), a foundation that is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.  Espou...

ALI Fellow Lesego Sennelo (Class X: Seed) is a qualified chartered accountant with a passion for human resource development and economic empowerment. Many of the roles that she has taken up in her career have focused on the empowerment and advancement of African women, particularly in the finance sector. Lesego served as the president of the African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) Forum from 2...

With over 15 years of experience in the financial services and investment space, ALI Fellow Refilwe Moloto (Class XI: Tekano) is making great strides in the media and broadcasting industry. A financial analyst turned media doyenne, Refilwe started her journey with radio as a business and finance news contributor on the Afternoon Drive with John Maythamon CapeTalk. Thereafter, she landed her own a...

Since it’s promulgation, the National Health Insurance Bill has been a topic of hot discussion, with varying opinions and perspectives coming to the fore. On the 30th of September, ALI will be hosting a public dialogue centred around the NHI, which was announced at the National Assembly on the 8th of August. ALI Fellow Dr Malixole Percy Mahlathi, Class V: Mayihlome, will be chairing the discuss...

The Resnick McNulty Action Forum is a platform of engagement aimed at bringing together Fellows of the Aspen Global Leadership Network—a network that ALI is a proud member of. The Resnick McNulty Action Forum facilitates conversations around professional development and active citizenship. Every year, the Forum welcomes more than 350 entrepreneurs from over 30 countries to discuss the most pres...

ALI Fellow Linda Mateza (Class IX: Tariro) has been appointed as the new chief executive and principal officer of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF). The appointment comes as no surprise considering her wealth of experience and knowledge in managing pensions and investments across asset classes, including equities, bonds, property and money market investments. Linda holds a Master’...

The McNulty Foundation, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, has announced the 2019 Laureates for the 12th annual John P. McNulty Prize. ALI Fellow Joshin Raghubar (Class IV: Kalipha) has been recognised as a remarkable tech and social entrepreneur, using his “expertise, experience and networks to build and lead transformative social impact ventures” in South Africa. According to the Mc...

About three years ago, at the end of my several years as a ‘wandering Jew, I started thinking about hosting an ideas festival for the African world. My extended period of dabbling, following the winding up of NEXT in Nigeria, was coming to an end, it seemed clear to me, as my mind reset itself. In retrospect, the direction I have now embarked upon should have seemed obvious; I was going to fin...

Four years ago, I started an organisation called Grassroot. I had been living in China and India for almost a decade before coming home. During my time abroad, I was inspired by how collaborative efforts can bring about a significant change in a community. In India, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) had organised millions of women from poverty-stricken societies to do everything, fro...

Media freedom is under attack across the world, and the World Editors Forum (WEF) – the leading global network for print and digital editors – is a critical defender of both press freedom and editorial excellence. This month, ALI-WA member and head of BBC West Africa, Toyisi Ogunseye, was elected vice-president of the WEF. The new president, Warren Fernandez, is editor of the Straits Times a...

“Three bankers who are shaping how banking will look in the next five years,”reads an article in the latest issue of the Forbes Africa magazine. “One runs the new kid on the block; the other a bank that has risen from the ashes; the third is spearheading a traditional bank’s transformation in 11 African countries. A glimpse into the future of banking…” The banker who is running th...

Isaac Shongwe, co-founder of the African Leadership Initiative (ALI), was honoured last month with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Professional Services Awards(SAPSA). Explaining the objective of this awards initiative, Sipho Mncwabe, Regional General Manager of the Sanlam Gauteng Region, highlighted that it gives visibility to disciplines that are desperately needed in this cou...

PEG has completed a US$25m Series C round from existing and new investors to take its total raised to date to US$50m. PEG will use this latest round of investment to cement its position as a market leader in West Africa, where it already has operations in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. US$20m of this round is in debt, with CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, arranging a $1...

As many are aware, over 2 million people have now been affected by Cyclone Idai and its aftermath in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. As part of the response to this crisis, ALI Fellow, Roger Dickinson is part of a coordinating team looking to work with stakeholders to respond appropriately and with a medium to long term view. We are currently working with the South African Council of Churches, H...

The Africa Leadership Initiative is excited to announce that Chairperson of the Board of Control at Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), Khanyisile Kweyama, will be joining us for our next dialogue on the 18thof March 2019. The topic of discussion will be: Delivery, Integrity and Leadership in South Africa’s SOE’s. During President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2019 State of the Nation Addr...

Had it not been for a behind-the-scenes initiative of two like-minded women, Caster Semenya would not have had the financial muscle to challenge the International Association of Athletics Federations IAAF. Semenya’s legal representative Greg Nott has praised Bongiwe Mlangeni and Gloria Serobe for heeding the call to help raise funds from scratch to take the fight to the IAAF over their proposed...

  First Gear, then Asgisa, followed by a leftward shift took state-owned enterprises into the hands of rent-seekers On Wednesday on these pages fellow columnist John Dludlu argued that breaking Eskom into three subsidiaries will not resolve its fundamental problems, the primary one being a lack of leadership. Allow me to expand on that and add to his list. Eskom’s problems are rooted in th...

From finance to a fun winemaking experience, the allure of winemaking was enough to send stockbrokers Raymond Ndlovu and Kevin Swart to Franschhoek to start their own winemaking business. In this extract from Colour of Wine: Tasting Change, Ndlovu explains how his business accumen helped him grow their business. The wine business is fascinating. You meet a diverse range of people from all walks o...

10 years ago I established Chapter One Innovation, a business model research and development firm with the vision of being the platform off which market-winners, industry-leaders and world-changers are launched. Our vision is pursued by building and launching high-impact, listable organisational systems at scale and helping others to do the same. On the occasion of our 10th-year anniversary celeb...

Founded in 2009 by ALI alumni Dr’s Futhi Mtoba and Mothomang Diaho, TEACH SA was birthed with the objective of tackling the challenge of teacher shortages and the need for quality education in South Africa. The initiative comprises of young, talented graduates who are recruited and trained to become great ambassadors in the field of teaching – a healthy indicator for the future of educati...

ALI’s Board has for some time felt the need to appoint an Advisory Council –   a council of elders in a way, consisting of Fellows who have been actively engaged in the Fellowship for more than 10 years, or who have previously been on the Board. The intention is that this Council would play a support role to the Board’s activities, reflecting the diversity of the Fellowship and being ...

Our ALI Fellow, Konehali Gugushe, has recently been promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Land Bank and we couldn’t be prouder of the African woman power she’s exuding right now. Gugushe is part of the Fellow Class X: XSeed. Having been at Land Bank for almost four years, this soar up the corporate ladder was clearly just a matter of time. Previously, she was the Chief Risk Officer r...

ALI sends out a huge welcome to its newest Board member, Grathel Motau. She is an ALI Fellow of the tenth class of the initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Currently, Motau is an independent non-executive director of various boards including Metair Investments Limited, Afrocentric Investment Limited and Merafe Resources Limited. She also serves as a non-executive credit...

The inaugural Africa Impact Forum was a great success. Modelled on the Resnick Aspen Action Forum but designed specifically for the African context, the ALI Africa Impact Forum was initiated by the leadership of the Africa Leadership Initiative. This event brought together Fellows from ALI South Africa, ALI West Africa, ALI East Africa, ALI Mozambique, ALI Media, and the Young Africa Leadersh...

Dear Fellows, As we head into the end-of-year break, it’s time to look back on a most eventful 2018, reflect on our progress, and plan for 2019. What we were most excited about: We delivered two quality seminar experiences for Class XI; We built Pan-African ALI relationships through the inaugural African Impact Forum, and engaged and connected – or reconnected – many ALI Fellows; We told o...

Famously, Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ALI Fellows are taking that seriously. The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) analysis of South Africa’s education statistics makes for heartbreaking reading. Only 33% of matric candidates got 40% or higher for maths. Fewer than 30% of schools have a library; and fewer than 20% of go...

“History owes you nothing,” says ALI Fellow, Logan Wort. Click here to watch the full interview where he discusses his life experiences detailing his background as a young activist and his various encounters during the struggle days. Having been engaged all his life in the struggle for liberation movement, he believes today that all who were invested in the struggle are somewhat prisoners ...

Earlier this year several reports and articles published presented a very bleak picture of most South African municipalities. These illustrated that our municipalities are in shambles and in a disastrous financial position.  No fewer than 55 municipalities have been identified as distressed or dysfunctional. These hard facts were shared by Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Tr...

Written by Cecily Carmona. The XSeed class met from 6 to 8 September in Magaliesburg, Gauteng and was moderated by the wonderful Tsakani and well attended by our class. We spent a wonderful two days catching up on personal, professional and political issues close to all of our hearts. The readings, selected by Tsakani, served as an excellent catalyst to stimulating discussions. Time flew by as we...