MENTORS

ABIGAIL KHULUSE

INDEPENDENT | NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Abigail is a multi-faceted entrepreneur and business leader. As an entrepreneur, she founded Tushiyah in 2008 with the ambitious objective of growing SMEs, corporations, and the economy. Over the last decade, putting planning into practice has been a central theme for this exciting period of exponential growth. She has since transitioned out of Tushiyah and is pioneering township-centric solutions to facilitate economic inclusion for township businesses and youth. 

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Abigail is also a seasoned business director have served both as an executive and non-executive director in various companies and sectors. She was awarded SACBW Business Woman of the Year in 2014, CCBC Small Enterprise of the Year in 2015, and Conscious Companies Finalist in 2018.

AFRIKA MHLOPHE

PASTOR & AUTHOR  |  PRESSING MATTERS

Afrika Mhlophe has been in ministry since 1998 and has been Good News Community Church in Port Elizabeth’s leading pastor since 2002. He ministers on various platforms in South Africa and abroad, including being a regular speaker at the Mighty Men Conferences (MMC). 

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Afrika’s main focus revolves around calling Christians to bring Kingdom influence into every domain of life. For this reason, he has ventured to speak and write on complex subjects such as racism, corruption, and idolatry (among others). Afrika is married to Lindelwa, and their family reside in Gqeberha with their two children.

ANDRE HAASBROEK

COO | IN2FOOD GROUP

Andre is currently the joint Chief Operations Officer at In2Food, a national food producer. In 2003 he joined his father and built Nibbly Bits into a national food producer mainly supplying Woolworths . In 2016 he sold the business to In2Food, where he is currently employed. Andre has an interest in the growth hurdles experienced by fast growing businesses as well as the resulting change in organisational culture.

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Andre completed his accounting degree at Stellenbosch University and articles at PwC. He joined Vriesenhof Wine Farm and was responsible for administration and wine exports. Thereafter he worked as a financial manager, firstly at Nulaid Eggs and then at Pioneer Foods Milling Division, before starting Nibbly Bits.

Andre has various investments in smaller business ventures where he serves as a non executive director, and is also on the board of two NGOs in the Drakenstein area, namely NORSA and Valley of Abundance. 

BERTIE LOURENS

FOUNDER & CEO  |  WASTEPLAN

Bertie Lourens is the founder and CEO of WastePlan, a South African Waste Management Company that was started in Cape Town in 2004. WastePlan specializes in waste reduction, employs over 2500 staff and services nearly 800 clients in various industries in most of the major cities in South Africa. They are helping some clients achieve Zero Waste Certification. Bertie lives in Pretoria with his wife and their 4 kids.

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God owns 51% of WastePlan and the company actively works at breaking the poverty cycle in South Africa. They invest in education programs that give disadvantaged adults and children the best chance to achieve success.

WastePlan’ s purpose statement is “Uplifting lives by turning waste into opportunities” and as such WastePlan continues to innovate to find different ways of waste reduction and upliftment of people. 

BOSHOFF GROBLER

CHAIRMAN |  HEAL OUR LAND

Boshoff is a corporate, social, and spiritual entrepreneur.
He was a corporate entrepreneur for over twenty years, building new businesses within FirstRand, the largest financial services group on the African continent. These businesses compete in the investment banking and investment management industries. He was part of the team that built the multi-award-winning Debt Capital Markets business at Rand Merchant Bank.

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Boshoff was also the founder and CEO of Ashburton Investments, FirstRand’s investment management arm. Boshoff was also a member of FirstRand’s Executive Management Committee.

Boshoff is also a social entrepreneur, having established hospitality and outdoor adventure businesses. Boshoff co-founded and owned Phahama Lodge, a wild-life conference and leadership development centre in Gauteng. He is also a co-founder of the Adventure Institute, the first outdoor adventure university in South Africa, aimed at fostering job creation in South Africa’s nascent outdoor adventure industry.

As a spiritual entrepreneur, Boshoff has been part of many teams planting churches and establishing other ministries globally. He is Chairman of the Heal Our Land disaster response fund, formed during the 2021 unrest in Kwa Zulu Natal and Gauteng. He is also Chairman of the NXTMove, a global movement focussed on turning the trajectory
of Christianity in the next generation.

Boshoff is also an activator. As a preacher, speaker, writer, coach, and consultant, Boshoff loves encouraging others to be the change their worlds need.

He holds a BCom (Law) and LLB degree from the University of Pretoria and a Master of Law (LLM) degree from the University of Johannesburg. He also holds an Executive Master in Change (EMC) from INSEAD Business School in France.

Boshoff loves breeding and riding Arabian horses, travelling, staying fit, and reading. Boshoff is married to Blyde. They have three children: Andreas, Nina, and Miko.

CHAMP THEKISO

CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR  |  THE THEKVEST GROUP

Words that describe Champ Thekiso include: paradigm-shifter, leader, strategist, experienced director, entrepreneur, investor, and chartered accountant. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Entrepreneurial Advisory Division (EAD), which focused on auditing SMMEs. After PwC, he has been growing SMMEs through The Thekvest Group, a business development expertise. He has a wealth of experience in growing dormant companies to high performing socio-economic ventures. 

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Over and above his technical and financial knowledge, Champ has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, local procurement, economic transformation and social performance within the resources sector. He has been an advisor on several Employee Share Schemes, BEE transactions and BEE advisories for JSE listed and unlisted companies. He serviced clients such as Impala Platinum, Anglo Platinum, Shanduka Resources, Sephaku Cement, John Taolo Gaetsewe Developmental Trust, SIOC-CDT, and Modikwa Platinum, to name the few in the socio-economic transformation capacity.

DAVID BLANKS

FOUNDER & CEO  |  AVOLANDS

David is a passionate avocado entrepreneur and an ardent ambassador for agribusiness development. He believes that the free market and small business development is the only credible means to long-term prosperity for all South Africans. Prior to farming, David worked as a consulting project manager in commercial and development agriculture throughout Africa. He is a dedicated family man and when he is not working, you will find him motorbiking in the bush with his two sons or riding his mountain bike in the forests surrounding his farm.

GERRIT HEYMANS

CEO | POPUP UPLIFTMENT
CFO | CREATION CAPITAL

Gerrit is a Chartered Accountant with experience in logistics, manufacturing, financial services and skills development. He is the CEO of POPUP Upliftment, a non-profit company, which focuses on providing skills training to unemployed youth. POPUP has trained nearly 7,500 people up to the end of 2017. Gerrit is also the CFO of Creation Capital, an asset manager which manages a debt fund and a property fund.

GLADWYN LEEUW

Chief Investment Officer | E SQUARED INVESTMENTS

Gladwyn has multi-dimensional expertise and experience as an Investment Professional, having served various sectors in senior leadership and executive positions within large corporates, MNCs, and SMEs; being a lecturer of entrepreneurship; an investor; and a founder himself. He is the Chief Investment Officer at E Squared Investments, a South African Impact Investment Fund. Before E2, he served as a General Partner at Kingson Capital. 

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Gladwyn started his career as an Investment Manager at Anglo-American’s Enterprise and Supplier Development arm, Zimele.Afterward, He joined the Senior Executive team of one of South Africa’s largest international BPO’s, CCI South Africa. Gladwyn holds a Master of Management degree in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Studies and International Relations.

GUGU MOLOI

FOUNDER & MD  |  BETHEL ESTATE

Gugu is a seasoned business leader who has worked in leadership positions in both the public and the private sector. She turned mayor companies losses into thriving businesses and is very vocal about her dependence on God in the workplace. She is now the managing director of Bethel Farm, a commercial farming operation in Kwazulu-Natal, which she is building with her children.

IPI THIBEDI

CEO  |  WEBER SHANDWICK

Ipi is the CEO of Weber Shandwick, a global strategic, communications, and consulting firm. Ipi’s strength lies in solidifying multi-market client relationships in Africa and managing and expanding the agency’s growing network across the regional operation. She has specific expertise in C-suite advisory council and transitions. Her focus areas include organisational change management, sustainability, corporate and public affairs. 

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Her experience further includes working at blue-chip companies such as Deloitte and Altron, where she specialised in strategic business planning, innovation, corporate affairs and 360 marketing. She has also worked with Non-Profit Organisations in North America, Asia and Africa.

Ipi is a board member and director of PRCA UK Ltd and is listed as such at London Companies House. She also serves as a board member of Nahana Communications Group. She has further served on other boards and as a judge at some of the industry’s largest awards, which span across the African continent. 

JOHANN SNYMAN

PRINCIPAL: PRIVATE EQUITY  |  SAAD INVESTMENTS

After an early career in financial management, Johann entered the world of dealmaking and structured finance when he joined FNB Business as a Leveraged Finance dealmaker in 2011. In 2014 he became the head of FNB Business’ New Business Acquisitions team in the Western Cape: a role in which he managed a small, niche team of specialist dealmakers. Johann joined Cape Town-based private equity firm SAAD Investment Holdings in 2016. 

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He is intimately involved across the full spectrum of the business’ private equity initiatives, from deal origination phase to post-transaction value creation. He serves as a non-executive director on the Boards of various SAAD investee companies operating in the technology, financial services, and contact centre industries.

He is married to the love of his life, Tara, and is a proud father of two bright-eyed and bushy-tailed boys: Aren and Jonathan.

JOHN YIP

FACILITATOR  |  INTERNATIONAL SPORT LEADERSHIP SCHOOL (ISLS)

John is the facilitator of the ISLS – an initiative that has trained 600 emerging leaders from 140 countries. His purpose is to enhance strategic Kingdom expansion processes and to develop emerging leaders through the means of catalyzing and multiplying Gospel movements. He is the co-facilitator for a global sports coalition with partners in 240 countries, islands, and territories. Millions of sports people are reached and discipled through sports, games, and fitness because of leader and team development for 100,000 leaders each year.

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John facilitates Ubabalo Whole Life Coaching – an initiative to equip coaches to be fathers on the sports field. Ubabalo has exploded to over 140 countries with 10,000 coaches trained annually and open source resources available for multiple sports in multiple languages. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and is a Certified Behavioural Consultant, Executive Coach, and Futures Thinking consultant. John is married to Wan Yi and they have embraced the adventure of parenting their daughters Emma and Ellie. They love serving young couples and young families to discover their purpose within God’s mission.

LERATO THEKISO

CO-FOUNDER & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR  |  THE THEKVEST GROUP

Lerato is an admitted attorney and avid entrepreneur. Together with her husband, Champ Thekiso, they founded The Thekvest Group, which focuses on economic inclusion through advisory solutions. They see themselves as bridge-builders. For the past ten years, they have led the Unleashed Leadership Development Foundation, a non-profit that exists to unleash the potential of Africa’s people. Lerato is an experienced non-executive director and serves as chairperson in two trusts that address South Africa’s socio-economic challenges. 

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Lerato is a proud alumni of the prestigious Fortune: Most Powerful Women flagship partnership with Vital Voices and the U.S State Department. She is passionate about using her influence to make a meaningful difference in the world.

LOUWTJIE VENTER

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR  |  SIX33 GROUP

Louwtjie is a Director of the SIX33 Group – a private equity firm with investments in
agriculture, property and other startups. He studied at Stellenbosch University and is a qualified chartered management accountant. He has a heart to assist business owners steward that which has been entrusted to them, which is why he co-founded Finovate Group – a group of companies that provide professional corporate advisory services in taxation, accounting, business consulting, human resources and marketing. He serves on various boards and enjoys working with people in team format.

MARTIN KUSCUS

COACH & BUSINESS LEADER  |  MARCUS KUSCUS

Before starting his private ventures, Martin spent 17 years in health care services, was the former MEC of Finance in the North West Provincial Government, on the Council for International Standards Organization (ISO), and was the CEO of the South African Bureau of Standards. He has served on various boards (including that of a UN Global Compact initiative), has been the Mineworker’s Provident Fund Chairman, and is a Non-Executive Director for multiple companies, including the Netcare Group.

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In 2004 the President of South Africa even assigned Martin to the Finance and Fiscal Commission, where he gained vast learning experiences in public policy analysis and intergovernmental fiscal relations.

Given his strategic insights and vast learning experiences, he became a trusted coach and mentor to many governmental, corporate and church leaders. He is also a public speaker and has published a book (Credibility Matters). He has been married to his lovely wife Elizabeth, with whom he has three children and two grandchildren.

RUDZANI MULOIWA

PROFESSOR & HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PAEDIATRICS & CHILD HEALTH  |  UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN & RED CROSS WAR MEMORIAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Rudzani Muloiwa has been a Professor and Head of the Department of Paediatrics & Child Health at UCT and the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town since the end of 2020. He is the current co-director of the Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA), located within the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT. Rudzani serves as Deputy Chair of the South Africa National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NAGI) and member of the Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group for the World Health Organisation’s Region for Africa.

Sheldon Tatchell

FOUNDER & CEO  |  LEGENDS BARBERSHOP

Sheldon Tatchell is the founder and owner of Legends Barbershop, a brand that has quickly become luminary among South Africans. From humble beginnings back in 2011, on a stoep in Eldorado Park to 66 stores later employing over 400 staff members across the SADC region, the journey and the vision continues.

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2014 was a watershed year for Legends Barber Shop since it represented its rebirth and the year in which the concept really took off. Sheldon decided to go solo in the business and, even though Standard Bank still employed him on a full-time basis, opened the first fully-fledged Legends Barber Shop in Crystal Mall in Eldorado Park. By September of the same year, the shop’s success allowed him to resign from his day job and in July 2015, he opened a second branch in Florida on the West Rand.

STEPHAN PRETORIUS

FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR | AGES GROUP
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN | TOUCHING AFRICA DEVELOPMENT TRUST

Stephan, a student of the Word, a author, and natural scientist, resides in Potchefstroom from where he is involved in family, business, and community development projects. He is married to Christa, and they have a family of 4 children with their spouses, and 9 grandchildren. He has 40 years’ experience, has obtain a PhD in Geo-Environmental Management and is the founder of the AGES Group of companies and businesses with a focus on geo-environmental engineering solutions and management in the water and natural resource sector.  

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With a Kingdom-vision focus, he is also the founder of Touching Africa as a network of businesses that share the dream to make a difference and heal the land through the implementation of various programs and projects.  

TINUS KITS

CEO & CO-FOUNDER  |  VISION MEAT GROUP

Tinus is the co-founder and CEO of the Vision Meat Group. Within this group, they manage the entire meat industry’s value chain, from the farm to the end customer at butcheries and fast-food restaurants. A pivotal segment of the group includes a Non-Profit Organization dedicated to uplifting the local community. Tinus is a highly motivated individual with a strong focus on his family and local church. He also invests in various businesses, supporting and mentoring younger entrepreneurs with whom he partners.