GSB Foundation Scholars 2024
Vukosi Khosa has a background in global financial services and has aimed to earn an MBA since high school. At the GSB, he finds the MBA program enriching, particularly valuing the faculty’s calibre, passion, and their approach to course content – conveying purpose beyond just skills. He says, ” Once you understand the purpose of each course, you are able to contribute meaningfully to those areas going forward.”
Simphiwe Petros started in engineering before becoming a radio host, podcaster and high school teacher. Driven by a passion for youth empowerment and leadership, he co-founded a local leadership academy. He embarked on the MBA to “do more and become more”, and the programme’s Africa focus is critical. He says: “The problems we face can only be solved by Africans, as we deeply understand the complexity of our issues.”
Thapelo Tsiu comes from retail banking and financial wellness. He is pursuing an MBA to enhance his business acumen. Thapelo values the program for its global reach, noting it offers learnings beyond business practices: “It starts with you – dealing with you as a human being – and seeing how all these elements can be successful if you have a good lens as to how they should be applied.”
GSB Foundation Scholars 2023
Refentse Masha is a chartered accountant, entrepreneur and coach to small businesses. She also volunteers in NGOs that focus on youth, education and mental wellness. After carefully evaluating various business schools worldwide, Refentse deliberately chose to pursue her MBA at the GSB: “The direction I want to go – which is business in Africa – is something that the GSB aligns with. I feel at home here.”
Matthew Pereira has a background in financial markets and trading. He has always dreamed of obtaining an MBA and is now fully immersing himself in the GSB experience. “I’m trying to take out everything I can from the MBA, everything it offers. I realise now that there is so much, and I appreciate everything”, referring to the programme curriculum, networking opportunities and campus life.
Makgotso Thobejane is a chemical engineer with a PGDip in Power Plant Engineering, passionate about sustainable energy and women’s empowerment. Her decision to pursue the MBA at the GSB was influenced by a faculty member who encouraged honing leadership skills alongside technical knowledge. “To negotiate with stakeholders, to work in a team for an outcome – the amount of skills I’m grasping is amazing”, she says.
GSB Foundation Scholars 2022
Minaz Munshi worked at a global networking platform in business strategy and operations, learning and development as well as diversity and inclusion. With the GSB MBA, she wants to match her practical skills with theoretical frameworks to prepare for the next step: moving into the startup and entrepreneurship space. Also on her list for the future: “being called back as one of those alumni who can give a speech about something amazing they’re doing.”
Elizabeth Olivier is a health professional with a solid track record in operations, service design and management. She aims to bring a business mind to the care profession, apply her experience from abroad and improve local health services. The GSB MBA ticks all boxes: “I believe that we are going to walk out of here with passion and optimism for Africa, and that is something I really wanted.”
Vishal Patel is an engineer with experience in construction projects, green building practices and organisational culture. He fast-tracked his decision to do the MBA and aims to transition into management consulting, advising businesses on challenges in the market. UCT GSB was his first choice based on “their relevance in the industry, their focus on sustainability and the African landscape, and how agile they are in developing courses.”
GSB Foundation Scholars 2021
Shadi Lekgoathi is a chartered accountant. After a short work stint overseas, she is now building her career at home in South Africa. She decided on an MBA to challenge herself academically and get to know perspectives beyond her professional lens. She is motivated: the school’s focus on emerging markets, interactions with class colleagues and GSB Alumni – “you cannot emerge the same”, she says.
Kirk Oppel comes from a medical family. He is a doctor by training with a deep passion for obstetrics and birth care. Drawn to the business aspects of medicine, he feels the GSB MBA is a solid foundation for his career. Given the GSB MBA’s international ranking, the curriculum, and the location of the campus, “it’d be difficult to consider any other business school”, he says.
Suzette van der Walt is a trained architect and project manager at a non-profit organisation supporting under-resourced urban communities in Southern Africa. The GSB MBA enables her to study in context – at an African business school that pioneers social entrepreneurship, innovative finance and related approaches. She is keen to meet other change-makers on the programme and, after the course, “get down to business as quickly as possible”.
GSB Foundation Scholars 2020
Janine Downes climbed the ranks from junior administrator to general manager in a manufacturing and distribution company. Her goals for 2020: to fully immerse herself in the GSB MBA programme and emerge as a well-rounded leader. Key to her journey is the eagerness to learn and learn from the best, she says, not just from lecturers but also the people she surrounds herself with on a day-to-day basis.
Arthur Gajewski is an engineer with a passion for energy optimization and environmental sustainability. On the GSB MBA programme, he looks to expand his skill set and become a better leader. He particularly enjoys learning how to navigate the complexities of doing business in South Africa and managing teams and organisations in this context, as well as getting stakeholders on board to create relevant, inclusive solutions.
Damian Malgas is an entrepreneur in the entertainment industry and a seasoned educator involved in a range of NGOs. Damian embarked on the MBA to complement his intuitive approach to business with the right set of analytical tools. He wants to bring everything together and build companies that provide quality employment, help to build society and grow Africa’s artistic and financial wealth.
Steven van Rheede has a background in manufacturing, managing teams of up to sixty people. This experience has taught him that leadership in practice requires individual approaches. At the GSB MBA, Steven wants to gain a deeper understanding of how he can support employees as well as teams and enable them to reach their fullest potential. He also wants to explore the broader context of business and other sectors.
GSB Foundation Scholars 2019
Asanda Manina has a background in Financial Services. Doing the MBA has always been a personal goal of her’s; for inspiration, she draws on her role model, a South African media personality who pursued the degree and became a successful businesswoman. Asanda is looking to use the MBA as a platform to become a changemaker, a connector, an enabler so that she can empower others.
Nobukhosi Mguni comes from the construction industry. She is all for looking at a business “as a full circle”, as she calls it – looking not only at profits but also its impact on society and the environment. She is intrigued about new aspects she discovered at the MBA, such as embracing creativity for innovation and bringing authenticity to leadership. Going forward, Nobukhosi wants to be part of the change and use her voice to do things right in business, in society and the community.
Jane Elizabeth Obree comes from the world of retail, having worked last for a leading South African fashion retailer. She embarked on the MBA to acquire the skills necessary to become a better leader, a better manager, and a business owner; her ultimate goal is to make a difference in the local retail and textile industry. Jane is particularly interested in the social innovation and entrepreneurship components the GSB MBA offers and the curriculum’s pan-African context.
Euston Henri Witbooi has a background in mining and resource exploration. His career has taken him to many countries on the African continent, working with diverse teams and under vastly different conditions. He is always up for a challenge when it comes to growing – as a professional and as an individual – and refining his purpose. Doing the MBA, Euston is keen to deepen his understanding of the business world, the social context of business, and the concept of leadership.
GSB Foundation Scholars 2018
- Ansellia Adams
- Siyabonga Gule
- Khotso Mahlasela
- MP Mogorosi
- Uthman Samodien
GSB Foundation Scholars 2017
Ntsikakazi “Kiki” Hene is the former brand manager of a well-known online marketplace. She is on a quest to become a leader that sees the bigger picture: how business can solve some of the social and economic issues in South Africa, how people can be positively impacted by a business’ activities, and how people can be empowered to shape a better future for themselves and communities.
Thulani Mahlangu has a background in marketing and brand management and he has a heart for NGOs where he volunteers his expertise. Thulani is interested in how business strategies and business models can foster local skills, shared value, as well as business innovation that responds to the needs of the country and the continent.
Alec Baile-Batlile Mutlane comes from consumer marketing sector, with a strong focus on new media – he co-founded an online marketing company. Alec has set out to become a thought leader in how technology can contribute to social impact and socio-economic equality in the African marketplace.