South Africa Speakers 2017

SHAMILA RAMJAWAN FOUNDER CEO FAMRAM SOLUTIONS AND FOUNDER OWNER OF THE PRINCESSD MENSTRUAL CUP Born and raised in Pietermaritzburg she moved to Gauteng in 2002 due to career advancements Shamila was employed in the Marketing and Communications Industry for over two decades and acquired vast experience and knowledge in her field of expertise She occupied senior management roles in various organisations and also represented these organisations at Board level Her qualifications include Public Relations Diploma P R P from the Pietermaritzburg Technical College Marketing Diploma from Unisa BTech Marketing degree from Unisa MBA from Unisa Business School SBL in 2011 Management Development Programme MDP certificate from GIBS Leadership Development Programme LDP certificate from the Standard Bank Global Leadership GLC published author Her book – Marketing tools and strategies was published in July 2013 Certificate through Unisa Department of Psychology in 2015 in Capacity Building focusing on rural areas obtained distinctions She is busy with her Phd She values the relationships she builds through networking and the interaction with stakeholders at various levels Her successes are fundamentally aligned with strategic objectives being personal and business She has two registered companies Famram Solutions marketing and communications solutions and Famram Foundation empowering uplifting and providing CSI solutions enhancing socio-economic development She encourages funding and sponsorships for educational programmes resources and products from government and corporates that decisively impacts the quality of lives in rural communities as she believes that we have the power to make a sustainable contribution to socio-economic development in South Africa Famram Solutions submitted a proposal for Corporate Social Investment CSI sponsorship to Pernod Ricard After a thorough and lengthy process Famram Solutions were awarded the third place position for the Responsib All project out of 20 entries and will receive funding to the value of R150k for CSI projects Pernod Ricard trusted her with identifying beneficiaries in the Johannesburg area for this project She identified a home in Pretoria North called Amadea that takes care of 27 children that have physical disabilities They received 2 X mobile trolley libraries with 400 books and 5 Hippo Water Rollers for their food garden She also donated PrincessD Menstrual Cups to the girls The launch took place on the 2 June 2016 My current award winning project is the PrincessD Menstrual Cup Having worked with communities for over a decade I realised there was a dire need to research the menstrual cup as a sustainable solution for menstruation because girls in deep rural areas miss school for up to 5 days in a month Early in 2016 I launched the brand After launching I found that its an essential product for girls and women everywhere because it is cost-effective eco-friendly and hygienic To date the product has been accepted very well in the marketplace and there has been lots of brand exposure Utilising my marketing expertise the PrincessD Menstrual Cup Facebook page has over 65 000 followers Through the amazing life-changing product I created numerous jobs in South Africa and Africa I now have a global footprint with stockists in South Africa Namibia Botswana Swaziland Ghana Lesotho Mozambique and the Philippines The product is stocked by 40 retailers and my biggest clients so far are the Kalapeng Pharmacy Group where it is stocked in 25 pharmacies in Mpumalanga Polokwane and Gauteng and Save Hyper from KwaZulu Natal who recently came on board and are piloting the product Accolades in 2016 I was a semi-finalist in the Emerging Entrepreneur Category of the South African Council for Business Women Competition On the 5 August 2016 I was chosen as one of 50 women to receive the Panache Woman of Wonder WOW award I was a finalist in the Margaret Hirsch Achiever of the Year I was a nominee in the Woman Real Architects of Society Special Award for the Unsung Heroine Category this is organized by former Miss SA Joan Ramagoshi This is where I met Caster Semenya I acquired Caster as a co-owner of Famram Solutions and a Brand Ambassador of PrincessD Menstrual Cup which is a division of Famram Solutions I am person with a positive mindset that tries to motivate and inspire people on a daily basis I launched a Facebook page called Motivational Quotes by Shamila Ramjawan in May 2016 and currently have over 20000 followers on the page I am a hard-worker and does not give up easily when trying to achieve my goals I am a driven dynamic and energetic person who continuously thinks out of the box and my purpose is to make a difference in peoples lives My motto is The sky s the limit Dream Big Some of my quotes Nobody will ever realise your struggle until you disclose your story Be the one to comfort others by talking about your hardships and where you came from It will surely inspire others and create awareness that there are opportunities out that they can grab and steer their own ship to success Never ever give up Your messages to the world must be words of encouragement motivation and inspiration If you live it share it For Women s Day 2016 She is the epitome of style class and elegance Her aura oozes with determination confidence and charisma She is hungry for challenges and success She settles for nothing but love and light She is a WOMAN Happy Women s Day

Gamuchirai Mutezo is the Chief Operations Officer at SEA Africa. Her role and responsibilities include overseeing ongoing operations and administration within the company as well as research in enterprise development and the renewable energy sectors. Gamuchirai holds an Honours degree in Town and Regional Planning (University of Pretoria), a Certificate in Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Project Management (UNISA) and has recently completed her MPhil Energy and Development Studies from the Energy Research Centre – University of Cape Town. In addition to her position at SEA Africa, she is also an academic manuscript reviewer for the Waste Management & Research (WM&R) Journal. She has more than six years of work experience spanning across research and development within the academic and private sectors as well as enterprise development. Gamuchirai’s interests include renewable and bio-energy (waste-to-energy), urban planning, small enterprise development, and research. She enjoys travelling, intellectually enticing conversations, reading and riding motorcycles.

Bloomberg (BMIA) Executive Alumni; Director of an ICT Company providing ICT Solutions in Sub Sahara Africa Region; Executive Director of an Independent Power Producer in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) with a specific focus on Renewable Energy Technology Driven Power Projects; Non-Executive Director of Hydro-Utilities (Consulting Engineering); Non-Executive Board Member of African Community Fund for Education Group (NGO).With proven of sales, profit and with ability to pinpoint business opportunities, She spent 18 years of her career in the ICT industry contributing to organizations such as Compuware, SAP (Systems Applications Products), Cisco Systems Inc., and Software AG. Key focus areas include direct & indirect sales, business development, corporate marketing, channel marketing and relationship management in highly competitive segments of software and hardware IT multi-national corporations, working in multiple geographies. She is highly energetic with distinctive multi-matrix management skills and demonstrated ability to build projects from scratch and hand-over at profitable and mature stage to a new team.

Funeka Plaatjie-Njobeni has a diverse professional background. Her career spans 20 years as an experienced Human Resource Practitioner, a seasoned Transformation & Change consultant and inspiration speaker. She has offered her insights in teaching, as part of the Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.Funeka has worked in many organizational settings & consulted in both private & public sectors. She currently practices as a Transformational Coach and Social Worker in Private Practice and combines her consulting skills, coaching competence, clinical experience and personal attributes to inspire authentic transformation and facilitate change in individuals, families and communities.In the clinical space, she has a special interest in Intimate Partner Violence and women economic empowerment. As a way of keeping women safe from violence, Funeka has facilitated therapeutic groups for men who are violent towards their intimate partners. The groups, designed to hold men accountable, provide a holding and confidential space that facilitates behavioural change.In the coaching space, Funeka is curious about how people move through transition. She seeks to nurture the human spirit, gives feedback with compassion and encourages effectiveness. She works collaboratively with individuals to bring them in alignment with their core values.Funeka is passionate about individual, organizational and social transformation and is certified to use various diagnostic and dialogic processes that provide input to plan and facilitate change initiatives. She draws her inspiration from being a South African woman.She is a registered member of Coaches & Mentors of South Africa (WCNJO-0807-PRA); SA Council of Social Service Professionals (10-16674); and South African Social Workers in Private Practice (SASWIPP) and fully subscribes to all Codes of Ethics.

Sandiso is a Management Consultant at Accenture Development Partnerships, a global practice within Accenture that employs an innovative business model to help make Accenture’s business and technology consulting services accessible and sustainable to organisations serving the international development sector. Her focus is to support public and private sector organisations to overcome the challenges of Renewable Energy Access and Grow the Agriculture industry in Africa. She is passionate about development and founded the Born to Succeed programme to that aims to curb the steep youth unemployment rate in South Africa through Career Development and Vocational Training. Born to Succeed identifies young women from townships in South Africa who have passed grade 12 but are unemployed. The programme imparts skills to assist them in finding a job it currently holds a 94% employment rate post the programme tenure. Sandiso was also the former Deputy Chairman of Advancement of Black Accountants South Africa Bursary Fund, which addresses the challenges faced by previously disadvantaged learners in accessing institutions of higher learning due to funding constraints. She engages key stakeholders by raising funds through various initiatives. To date the fund has assisted 15 learners. Sandiso was selected from a pool of 4000 applications from South Africa to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2016 in the U.S. Recently Sandiso represented South Africa at the World Bank Youth Summit 2016, Washington DC by sharing her Youth Unemployment mobile platform called ‘Khwela.

Farhana ParkerProject Manager, Western Cape Department of Social Development–MinistrySouth AfricaFarhana Parker is a social entrepreneur who has been working in the social sector and the Western Cape Government Minsitry of Social Development for more than nine years. She is the current deputy curator of the Global Shapers Cape Town Hub of the World Economic Forum. She has extensive experience designing programmes to bring about social change focusing on youth and women, contributed to policy development, advisory support to the Minister of social development and also involved in the allocation of funds to more than 2000 organisations across South Africa. She was the project lead for the Youth Cafes in the Western Cape that have impacted more than 20 000 young people. Passionate about womens issues and the empowerment of women, Farhana was determined that she wanted to make a difference in the lives of women by reducing the high unemployment rate. Independently she conducted extensive research in the field locally and internationally in places such as Brazil, India and USA and conceptualised and developed the Social Makeover Programme. She designed a highly innovative concept focused on women’s beauty services with a very strong social message of empowerment.”

Masingita Masunga, is a celebrated South African host of the TV show “Masingita With Confidence”, an established motivational and inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, producer, TV director and philanthropist.Masingita Masunga was born in Giyani Limpopo. An inspirational and phenomenal woman who dared to push the envelope and change the course of the term disabled. As a person living with Cerebral Palsy an abnormality in parts of the brain that control muscle movements and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination, she has been able to beat the odds and become a force to be reckoned with. Masingita challenged the education system when she failed grade 12 twice because of her handwriting and from that experience she became an activist and has been making a difference in the country.She is the founder of MISS CONFIDENCE SA the first beauty pageant for women with physical disabilities which was founded in 1999.She is currently the Managing Director of MASINGITA MASUNGA Media a company who’s business model focuses on a number of distinct but complementary businesses, operating in television production, exhibitions-conferencing and publishing thus creating a synergistic business group. “Masingita with confidence show” is a 30 minutes talk production that flights on Soweto TV on the DSTV cable network weekly. It is presented in English, Xitsonga, Tshivenda Sesotho and IsiZulu, The target audience is all members of the community young and old. The show features guests who undertake different life issues which are evident through people’s behaviours and circumstances. This is an inspirational show that helps South Africans find restoration, vision and purpose.

My passion for development in Africa stemmed from my diverse family background, having grown up in South Africa, born in Nigeria and parents from two different African countries, has always instilled curiosity in how different economies in Africa function. I’m currently the Head of Research and Development at SEA Africa and a Director for the Centre of African Youth Entrepreneurship (CAYE). I’ve also had the opportunity of being an integral part in the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (2017) to be held for the first time in Africa, within the content Sub-Committee and the local liaison for programme and content.

Candice Schultz is a qualified and practicing Attorney and was the youngest person to assume a directorship position of an International Law Firm in South Africa. She subsequently joined a BEE Investment Group where she assisted in facilitating multi billion Rand transactions across various sectors. Candice has been instrumental in the creation of several successful business start-ups and is currently pursuing her intersets in the property market through her invovlement in innovative projects together with listed companies. Understanding the need for any investor to have a global perspective, she has recently incorporated a real estate advisory firm offering local South African investors an opportunity to diversify their portfolios by investing internationally.Candice is very passionante about empowering women by helping them break through limiting belief systems. She believes that women can become empowered leaders by tapping into their own inner power through knowing who they are and embracing their femininity.

Mrs. Khan is a dynamic, highly competent and strategic person with demonstrable skills and technical experience in both the Corporate and NGO sectors. This experience was gained in Medical Healthcare, Early Childhood Development, Fundraising (International and National specializing in Public Private Partnerships ), Programme Development and Management, Advocacy and Human Rights, Strategy and Development (NGO and Corporate), Customer Service Delivery, International Development focusing on Fundraising, Strategic and Operational Management of Multiple departments/projects across several country programs, Financial Management (Budgets, Forecasting, Resource Management and Reporting), Organizational Change and Development as well as CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Mrs Khan qualified as a nurse and after a short stint there moved to the Corporate Sector where she excelled. In 2003, she moved to the NGO sector following a serious car accident in which her son was involved. He is brain injured and Saira had now dedicated her life to assisting poverty stricken children in need. She is currently the CEO of Stop Hunger Now SA and has led 2 major Mandela Day Campaigns being the MILLION MEAL challenge in 2015 and the Global FOLLOW THE SUN 10 million challenge this year (2016)