MEJ: My Entrepreneurship Journey

Tsokolo Makeka is the founder and managing director of The Creative Lab and the CXO at Xperisense. Tsokolo is the Creator of the Gin and Trout stable. A lifestyle tourism event resting on three pillars, business tourism, experiential tourism, and food tourism. The Lesotho Gin and Trout festival is focused on expanding the value chain of trout fish farming and gin production in Lesotho to project the country on a global stage and create expanded processing and exportation opportunities. Tsokolo is a strategist who believes in the power of ideas and what they can do when applied with the right motive, temperament and vision. He studied BA IMC, Marketing and Communications at the University of the Free State, MDP, Business administration at GIBS Business School, Business, Management and Marketing at Texas McCombs School of Business. He started his Entrepreneurship journey at 18 years of age has 3 children, and has been married for 7 years.

Neema Iyer is an artist, technologist and coach. She is the founder of Pollicy, an award winning feminist civic technology collective based in Kampala, Uganda and serves on Meta's Global Women's Safety Advisory Board. She was also recently a Practitioner Fellow at Stanford's Digital Civil Society Lab and senior Fellow in Trustworthy AI at Mozilla Foundation. She currently leads the design of a number of projects focused on building data skills, on fostering conversations on data governance and digital security, and on innovating around technology policy.

Maleroi Makhele has 5 years of banking experience, and over 20 years of HR Management experience at her international textile firm. Maleroi further did her post graduate studies in Labour Law at the University Of Lesotho to ensure compliance of international and local labour standards. During her tenure, Maleroi has interacted with mainly US clients such as Puma, Walmart, Academy Adidas, Russells, Costco, Spanx and others. She was involved in extensive audits from international audit firms such as BetterWork, Smerta, Wrap and others to ensure good labor standards are being followed, e.g No child labour or forced labour, no discrimination or intimidation, to ensure that collective agreements are honoured, to ensure presence of good health and safety standards, e.tc Maleroi ensured that all these processes were in order to attract the aforementioned clientele. Maleroi offers Labour Law and HR consulting services at her Consulting firm.

Daniela is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of professional experience in the private sector as well as in international development, having worked extensively throughout Europe, Australia, Africa and the USA in International Sales & Marketing, PR, Business Development and Social Entrepreneurship. She has successfully grown companies to new levels of success, designed and launched social enterprises and led diverse teams in various competitive sectors from educational services, manufacturing to corporate B2B events. After seeing endless development projects fail combined with the fact that 95% of social impact funding is invested in foreign rather than local entrepreneurs, Daniela decided to start up an non-profit called RISE International. Focusing on economic development through job creation, skills development and entrepreneurship by linking aspiring African entrepreneurs with essential resources needed in order for their enterprises to flourish.

Serisha Barrat is a remarkable tech entrepreneur and influential figure in the tech industry, particularly within Africa. Her dedication to creating positive social and economic impact is evident through her various endeavors and contributions. Serisha and her co-founder Wisani Shilumani, founded Boardroom, where professionals redefine dating. Their mission is to help people forge meaningful connections, transcending instant gratification. They promise one will experience mindful and intentional interactions with fellow professionals, while they emphasize quality over quantity in matches. They ensure authenticity through LinkedIn verifications, and as an invite-only platform, they curate a select network of potential matches who are dedicated to building genuine relationships.

Dr. William Mapham is a South African entrepreneur and founder of Vula Mobile, a mobile health platform that connects rural healthcare workers with medical specialists. Dr. Mapham is a medical doctor with a passion for using technology to improve access to healthcare in underserved areas. After completing his medical degree at the University of Cape Town, Dr Mapham worked as a doctor in several rural areas in South Africa. He witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by healthcare workers in these areas, who often lacked access to the resources and support they needed to provide quality care to their patients. This experience inspired him to create Vula Mobile, which launched in 2014. To date Vula has over 30 000 registered health workers on the platform and over 1 million patients have benefited. Dr Mapham believes that partnerships are the key to delivering healthcare. He is a passionate advocate for healthcare innovation and social entrepreneurship. Dr Mapham has spoken at numerous conferences and events, sharing his vision for a more accessible and equitable healthcare system. He continues to lead Vula Mobile as CEO, working to expand the platform's reach and impact in the years to come.

Dr Thabo Mosala is CEO and Founder at Adaptive Leadership Coaching. As an executive coach, Dr Thabo Mosala provides support and tailor made personal and professional development for business and corporate leaders who are already excelling in their fields. He focuses broadly on leadership, behavior and strategy, which are the key pillars that drive performance in an organization. His approach is designed to assist one to achieve their goals and aspirations. Dr Mosala started his career in the IT industry within Transnet (Spoornet, Datavia and SA Express Airways) He later switched to the commercial side of business when he joined Diners Club South Africa as director of operations. He was later seconded to Lesotho as head of retail banking in a capacity of executive director and deputy to the MD. Subsequently, Dr Mosala established Wrenjos Capital focusing on venture capital and enterprise development, including offering advisory services through the consulting business unit. Dr Thabo Mosala is a lecturer of Strategy, Leadership, Finance and Business Environment on a part time basis at GIBS, Wits Business School and UNISA School of Business Leadership. In 2011, he was voted the best lecturer for MBA at GIBS. He has been an executive coach for the past 10 years and is listed on the panel of coaches at a few corporates.

Dr. Trust Pfukwa, originally from Mutare, Zimbabwe, is the fourth born in a family of six. He did his education in Mutare before moving to Harare for his tertiary studies. After graduation, he worked as a production supervisor for Simbisa Brands' Bulawayo office for five years until he was laid off. He moved to South Africa in 2016 to study food science at Stellenbosch University where two of his siblings, as well as sister in law, have also graduated from with PhDs. In his research, Dr. Trust Pfukwa focuses on phytochemistry, food product valorisation and meat science. Utamu Foods was started by Dr. Trust Pfukwa while completing his doctoral research. The name "Utamu" is a Swahili word that means sweetness. It is therefore the mission of Utamu Foods to harness unique flavours and nutritional value from indigenous South African fruits into quality and healthful consumer products. Indigenous South African fruits also offer an opportunity to tap into climate smart, environmentally sustainable food sources which is important for more resilient , secure and sustainable food supply. At its heart, Utamu Foods seeks to ignite in every tea lover a deeper understanding and ultimately; appreciation, of local flavors while encouraging healthy living. The company invites customers to experience the unique flavors and aromas of local fruits, long cherished by our forefathers. Utamu Foods' one of a kind honeybush tea blends ultimately serve you the taste of Africa in a cup!

Marini Naturals is Africa's first quality haircare range for all natural hair. It is a Kenyan-owned haircare line founded by two friends; Michelle Ntalami and Niyati Patel. The idea came to Michelle in 2013 when she made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle, and hence cut her hair to grow it afresh naturally. However, at the time there were very few good quality and affordable products that catered to the African woman with natural hair. Because of this, she was determined to create a quality haircare line that is fully suited to the natural-haired African, men, women and children alike. She shared the idea with her family and her best friend Niyati, and the beautiful journey began! Niyati, being from Indian heritage, brought in a wealth of expertise on how to maintain long, strong, healthy hair using herbs and remedies, as has been the secret of the Indian community for years. Together, they therefore sought to make moisture the main differentiator for all Marini Naturals products. And so, in 2013, with the help of top laboratories, formulators, cosmetic experts, hairdressers and designers, they came together, researched, formulated, tested and created a product of their own. They called it Marini Naturals.

Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana is a fashion designer best known for her work, designing award-winning collections of jackets, capes and coats for her self-named label, Thabo Makhetha. Thabo has over 10 years of experience notably in design, events and as a key-note speaker on the topic of culture and heritage in fashion. Thabo has worked with leading brands such as Sterns Jewellery, The Kruger Rand and Amarula. In 2015 her events company, with husband, co-produced South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela's concert in partnership with Sun International. In 2014 Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana was awarded the Impact Award for Design Excellence, she is luminary of several top lists notably the Mail & Guardian's Top Young South Africans and Top under 40. In 2018 Thabo studied Business at the University of Austin, Texas (USA) as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. Thabo has a passion for design, fashion and leading creative teams in telling powerful stories rooted and inspired by Africa.

Magna Carta Wines is an organic wine growing winery established in 2014. Mphumeleli Ndlangisa farms grapes and produces wine naturally, without adding chemicals. He focuses on cultivars that are truly South African, Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. His wines are anecdotes of African culture and history. Magna Carta winery is owned by Mphumeleli and his wife Nomfundo Ndlangisa, their vision is to grow their exports into more countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. They currently are exporting 70% of their wines and aim to grow to 80% by 2023. Magna Carta's mission is to organically grow and export proudly South African wines. They are farmers that want to change the way the world views South African wines, especially those farmed by black Africans. Magna Carta winey is a family enterprise that wants to grow into international markets whilst creating jobs in South Africa. They are passionate about agriculture and love being wine producers. All their goals are long term, they work for the next generation who they hope will follow in their footsteps in organic farming.

Papis Camara is a British, French and Senegalese citizen who is currently living between England and France. He is an executive with over 15 years of professional experience. He first had 10 years of international experiences in Sales, Marketing and Management within L'Oréal, the global leader in Beauty, he has been leading digital start-ups in the UK and France for nearly 6 years. since April 2022, he has been managing the Digital Strategy and Growth Marketing for a leading hair and beauty distributor in the UK. Papis is the Founder of Papis4Business, a consulting company specializing in Digital, Mentoring, Strategy and Marketing. He is also a lecturer in Marketing and Strategy at Thelma Business School based in Dakar, which is the first management school in sub-Saharan Africa specializing in the Luxury, Fashion, Tourism and Hotel-Restaurant sectors.

Mzansi is a word understood by all but its meaning cuts a little deeper. It's that feeling we get when we visit home for the first time in a while, the smell of the braai that takes us back to our childhood or that spirit of unity we feel in our core. Mzansi Meat Co. wants to bring that magic to life through delicious, homegrown meat. Meat is synonymous with almost every culture here in Africa and year on year the demand increases. That's where Mzansi Meat Co. was born-out of a relentless desire to change our food systems and the way we make meat. Mzansi sees a future where healthy, accessible and affordable meat is grown from cells without harming animals or the environment

Sukume is an economic development company involved in Trade, Investment and Consulting in Africa. Sukume focuses on SME Development, Intra-African Trade and Place/ Country Branding. Their customers include African economic development agencies, businesses, brands and places/ countries. Sukume works to boost their global competitiveness for socio-economic transformation. Sukume creates platforms to promote Made by African SME brands. They build awareness and facilitates trade and investment for African SMEs. They also aim to help SMEs to scale through doing business with corporates and governments as well as with their African and global counterparts in ways that foster shared economic growth and empowerment for local communities.

Teboho Nthoana (formerly Mafodi) is a highly experienced and well respected business executive with over 15 years' senior executive management and operations experience in the ICT, Investment, Retail, Energy (Oil & Gas), Property, Construction and Management Consulting sectors with global experience in the private and public sectors at senior levels, including strategy formulation, leading multi-disciplinary teams, business re-engineering and driving organizational change. Teboho is a recognised expert in infrastructure development, with a solid track record in structuring and financing private and public projects in Africa and other emerging markets. He has contributed to creating and executing a pipeline of early stage transactions in the conventional and renewable (green) energy sectors as well as implementing risk management policies and compliance with valuation procedures. He is a long-time champion of suitable project management, infrastructure and built environment practices, which has implemented in the value of approximately 10 billion portfolio that he manages as CEO of TM Group. Teboho represents TM Group or its parent company on various boards (both owned and external vested businesses) as well as sub-committees to the boards.