Previously known as the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI), the ALI – Young Leaders Programme is premised on the Africa Leadership Initiative’s (ALI) purpose to develop the next generation of values-based, young African leaders who are prepared to be significant co-creators of a good society.
The age profile of ALI – Young Leaders Fellows ranges from 25 – 35 years, and as part of the initiative, the Fellows attend seminars, and they also carry out a high-impact, leadership project of their choosing – just like ALI Fellows.
This year, in association with the Letsema Foundation, we are proud to introduce the fourth class of the ALI – Young Leaders Programme. We have compiled the profiles for each of the candidate Fellows on the Young Leaders Programme, and we hope that you will take the time to review the profiles. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to engage with any of the candidate fellows.
Below are the 4th class’ profiles in no particular order:
Alykhan Vira
Executive Manager: Quantium Health South Africa
Alykhan is currently an executive manager at a health analytics company called Quantium Health, where he works across the healthcare sector to assist clients to make better use of their data in decision making and improving healthcare outcomes. His academic background is in clinical research, and he did his PhD in Immunology at the University of Cape Town.
Sbusisiwe Sibeko
Researcher and Budget Policy Program Lead: Institute for Economic Justice
Busi is an economist and researcher. Currently, she is a researcher and a Budget Policy Programme Lead at the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ). She holds a Masters in the Political Economy of Development from SOAS, University of London. For Busi, leadership is a muscle that is strengthened through practice. She is excited to be a part of ALI – Young Leaders because she is deeply committed to community as a site for transformation.
Rufaro Mudimu
Chief Executive Officer: enke: Make Your Mark
Rufaro has worked in nonprofit and social enterprises in Zimbabwe, Canada, and South Africa. Her dedication to youth development in Africa is driven by her belief that socio-economic transformation and leadership of the continent is in young people. She is the CEO of enke: Make Your Mark (www.enke.co.za), an award-winning youth leadership and entrepreneurial development organisation that was started in 2009 to bridge socioeconomic inequality by bringing young people together and equipping them with the skills and experiences to better their lives.
Siviwe Gwarube
Shadow Minister for Health and Member of the Portfolio Committee on Health
Siviwe is a politics honours graduate from Rhodes University and the University of the Western Cape. In 2020, she was appointed as the spokesperson of the official opposition in addition to the parliamentary work that she does on the health portfolio. Siviwe is passionate about women in leadership and she has a particular interest in parliamentary mechanisms as a measure of public accountability not only in South Africa but across the African continent.
Kwame Koram
Investment Banker: Credit Suisse
Kwame recently completed his MBA at INSEAD and will be joining the investment banking team at Credit Suisse in London later this year, as an associate. Before this, he worked as a junior investment analyst in the office of Ghana’s Minister for Finance. He is deeply passionate about Africa’s potential for transformation and is looking forward to being inspired by the ALI – Young Leaders cohort and learning from their many experiences around the continent and the world.
Sonwabise Mzinyathi
Senior Manager, Global Policy and Government Affairs: Global Citizen
Sonwabise is a director of several companies and has a degree in International Relations and Political Science, a postgraduate in International Affairs and Diplomacy, and is pursuing her MBA. She is passionate about transformation and the potential for technology to help organisations bridge the global inequality gap. She is the (acting) Chair of the Board of Directors for the South African Women in ICT Forum, a Forum that creates opportunities for women in South Africa’s ICT sector and ICT-enabled industries.
Maanda Mphaphuli
Managing Director: Isolashu Solutions
Maanda is currently the Managing Director of Isolashu Solutions which is an independent advisory and investment company. He has in excess of 12 years of experience ranging from financial engineering, data analytics, asset management, and financial risk management to transactional advisory. Maanda is passionate about merging data analytics and financial engineering techniques to derive insights that enhance decision making within organisations.
Linda Maqoma
Founder & Director: Nomatshawe Group
Linda is currently the National Chairperson of Women of ABASA (Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa NPC) and their National Communications Lead. She also serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of the ABASA Johannesburg Branch. In her nine years of service – at various leadership levels – ABASA has fuelled her passion for transformation within the accounting profession and beyond.
Simon Allison
Africa Editor: Mail & Guardian
Simon is the founding editor of The Continent, the award-winning pan-African weekly newspaper, and Africa Editor of the Mail & Guardian. He has over a deca de of experience as a foreign correspondent and has reported from dozens of countries around the world. He is also on the board of the Foreign Press Association Africa. Simon sees this fellowship as an incredible opportunity to share ideas and perspectives with a bunch of smart people who are doing interesting things.
Siyabonga Gule
Head Digital Channels & Client Experience (Global Markets): Standard Bank Group
Siya is an experienced financial markets technologist currently working for Standard Bank Group’s Corporate & Investment Banking arm – where he heads up Global Markets’ Digital Channels portfolio. He is a keen and wide reader, writer, and occasional public speaker on technology and its impact on society. He is also an avid cinephile and photographer. Furthermore, Siya enjoys mentoring both in an official capacity within Standard Bank, UCT, and WITS, but also in an unofficial capacity to a small network of young entrepreneurs and professionals starting their working careers.
Scelo Makhathini
Co-Founder & CEO: LinkdPro
Scelo is currently a technology entrepreneur with a keen focus on human resources, fintech, telecommunications and renewable energy. He is also a founder of a Pan-African impact-investing private equity firm. Scelo holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting and is a qualified CA(SA) with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is profoundly passionate about entrepreneurship, emerging disruptive technologies, leadership and using business as a catalyst for high-impact social change.
Sethu Tshabalala
Financial Analyst: MTN South Africa
Sethu is a registered Chartered Accountant currently working as a Financial Analyst for the Strategy team at MTN South Africa. Prior to joining this team, she served as a Senior Analyst for the Vice President of the MTN Group in the Middle East and North Africa, and this exposed her to many countries in Africa and the Middle East. She looks forward to learning more about executive leadership and entrepreneurship.
Ayodele Jenyo
Social Entrepreneur & Managing Director: The Cooperative Property Company
Ayodele is a Social Entrepreneur with deep expertise and focuses on social affordable housing in the UK and Nigeria, working in partnership with local and national governments. The Cooperative Property Company has expanded to Nigeria to build low-cost housing for low- and middle-income households to help ease the chronic shortage of affordable housing for essential workers. His landmark project is a development of 10,000 homes in partnership with the civil servants association and the federal government.
Inka Schomer
Senior Gender Consultant: World Bank Group
Inka is a Senior Gender Advisor/Consultant at the World Bank Group working with the IFC Infrastructure and Natural Resources department, the Africa Energy Unit and the Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice on the Pacific Gender Programme. She specialises in helping infrastructure stakeholders ensure they are responsive to change and well-positioned for business opportunities. For over 15 years, Inka has delivered results on closing gender gaps in large-scale investments in employment and skills, value-chains, entrepreneurship, access to finance, gender-based violence and community benefit sharing.
Jared Gray
Associate Partner: Letsema
Jared leads the Strategy and Enablement practice at Letsema, with a focus on Strategy Formulation, Operating Model Development, and Commercial and Market Due Diligences. He has a keen interest in marrying the digital world with the business world and he has completed extensive academic research about blockchain’s applications within the South African banking environment and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – the key factors driving ride-hail adoption in South Africa.
Caroline Kganyago-Ralefeta
Independent Screenwriter & Entrepreneur
Caroline is a self-motivated entrepreneur who studied and specialised in film and television production, graduating from the University of Cape Town and The University of the Witwatersrand. She is one of the board members of Sisters Working In Film and Television (SWIFT), a voluntary non-profit organisation committed to empowering women working in the industry. Caroline believes in the power of leadership and the influence it has on our ideology and lives. She enjoys connecting with people and firmly believes we all have something unique to offer and the capacity to make a difference from wherever we are.
Saarah Salie
Head of the Premier’s War Room: Western Cape Government
Saarah is currently the Head of the Premier’s War Room project in the Western Cape, assigned to deliver on transversal and complex reforms in commuter mobility, property development and safety priorities in the province. She is also a consultant to a political party and international organisations on urban development, electoral reform, and good governance. Previously, Saarah was the Director of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Private Office of the Executive Mayor in the City of Johannesburg, and a strategic advisor to the Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba. She has a keen interest in social justice issues and is a member of the council for homeless people in Cape Town.
Katakyie Ofori-Atta
Associate: Goldman Sachs
Katakyie is an associate at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong working on the Equity Management and Strategy team for the firm’s sales and trading franchise. Within Goldman Sachs, he has served on the Analyst and Associate Council and is currently a steering committee member of the Black and Hispanic Network. He is most excited about entering a programme committed to maturing the discussion about the future of the African continent, from both a growth and leadership perspective. He is also enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn with and from colleagues with various experiences and worldviews.
Robin Bleekers
Foundation Associate: Letsema
Robin has over eight years of management consulting experience in the public, private and not for profit sector, with a keen focus on strategy development, organisational reviews, and design for effectiveness. He has worked across Africa on various logistics-related projects which have had a positive overall impact on different African countries. Robin also helped launch the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme, a leading independent student bursary management scheme that has supported the launch of multiple African leadership development programmes.
Mbali Ntuli
Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA): Democratic Alliance
Mbali currently serves as the DA’s Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and has served on the Education, Social Development, and Public Participation committees. In 2019, Mbali was named Young World Politician of the Year by One Young World.
Since 2013, she has been a trustee of C.R.O.W – an organisation that deals with rehabilitating wildlife (and the only of its kind in KwaZulu Natal).
Pogiso Mthimunye
Digital Value Chain Lead: Exxaro
Pogiso is professionally contracted as a Digital Value Chain Lead for mining company Exxaro Resources. He is the Managing Director of Sekgao 189 and chairman of technology firm ICE. Pogiso is currently the Provincial Youth Leader of South Africa’s second-largest political party -the Democratic Alliance. He also mentors young people through an organisation at his former high school called My Brother’s Keeper. Pogiso holds a BSc (Hons) Industrial Systems from the University of Pretoria and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration at GIBS, and he is currently reading for a masters degree in Innovation and Technology Management with the University of Pretoria.
