Conversations with Pioneers

Dr Marcia Lebambo holds a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration from the Tshwane University of Technology, Business School.She is currently working as a Senior Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology, in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.  With more than 10 years of experience in Higher Education, Dr Lebambo published book chapters and articles in accredited journals and presented her work at local and international conferences. Her research interests are in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business development, entrepreneurship policies, rural tourism and technological entrepreneurship.She has previously worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, in the School of Tourism and Hospitality.In 2012, she founded the Marcia Lebambo Foundation, focusing on improving literacy in South African townships and rural schools.And she established a pre-school in 2020, the Dr Marcia Lebambo Academy. 

This is the trailer of the episode with Dr Marcia Lebambo. Listen to the full interview to hear all that went down. 

Sibabalwe Sesmani is the owner and group CEO of Unorthodox Group, which is a Public Relations, Media and Sport Management company focused on providing its clients with media exposure in Southern Africa, West Africa and parts of the United Kingdom.She shares her entrepreneurship story with us in this episode, advising entrepreneurs to fix their perspective when it comes to rejection as entrepreneurship is "hard". Tune in and share! 

Here is a trailer of the episode featuring Sibabalwe Sesmani of Unorthodox Group. Please listen to the full episode. 

Talifhani Banks is the founder and CEO of Analytics Advertising, which is a four-time award-winning medium enterprise and one of the best data tech companies shaping the continent of Africa. We catch up with him as he attends the Dubai Expo 2022, presenting Analytics Advertising on a global scale. Tune in. 

Here is the trailer from my chat with Analytics Advertising CEO Talifhani Banks.  Listen to the full episode above. 

Founder of Yung Heirz, speaker, mindset architect, facilitator, and entrepreneur Reabetswe Molapo is no stranger to Conversations with Pioneers. In this episode, we touch on: The psychology and notion of influencingRole models in societyImpacting minds and effecting change. The list is endless. Enjoy. And please share. 

This is the trailer of my conversation with the Founder of Yung Heirz Reabetswe Molapo. Please tune in the full episode for more. 

Thabo David Tabane is an entrepreneur and owner of DT Tabane Consulting. He specialises in business process automation and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) solutions.  He promotes STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths - and does his bit to support and educate youngsters in communities. He is set to put Wi-Fi hotspots in different villages and townships in South Africa. He travels and works between South Africa and the UK.Tune in. 

On the next episode of Conversations with Pioneers, I have a chat with Thabo David Tabane of DT Tabane Consulting. 

Bongi Ndaba is a South African born and bred writer, director and producer. She started her career in theatre as a child in 1993 and began writing for television in 2003 at one of South Africa's longest-running and top soapies, Generations, which she ended up be a head writer for in 2011. Bongi's TV credits as head writer include: Generations, Generations the Legacy, Isidingo, Shreads and Dreams, Uzalo, eHostela, Greed and Desire, among others. Her TV titles as a writer, include: Gazlam, Home Affairs, Muvhango, Sokhulu and Partners, Saints and Sinners, Jozi H, Ashes to Ashes, Z'bondiwe, and Imbewu the seed – among others. Listen to the full episode for more. 

Here is what is to come from the conversation with storyteller Bongi Ndaba. Tune in to the full episode as soon as it is live. 

Sabata-mpho Mokae is an academic, novelist and translator. He teaches Creative Writing in African Languages at the Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley. He has written an accessible biography 'The Story of Sol T. Plaatje' (2010) and Setswana novels 'Ga ke Modisa' (2012), 'Dikeledi' (2014) and 'Moletlo wa Manong' (2018). He has translated two children's books by Gcina Mhlophe ('Our Story Magic' to 'Semaka sa Dinaane' and 'Stories of Africa' to 'Dinaane tsa Aforika') from English to Setswana. He has also co-edited, with his British colleague Professor Brian Willan, two academic books; 'Sol Plaatje's Mhudi: History, Criticism, Celebration' (2020) as well as 'Sol T. Plaatje: A life in letters' (2020). In 2014 he was a writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa in the USA where he was subsequently awarded a fellowship. He has won the M-NET Literary Award for Best Setswana Novel (2013), M-NET Film Award (2013), South African Literary Award (2011 and 2019) and the Humanities and Social Sciences Award (2020). He is an affiliate at the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre at Wits University.

This is the trailer of the conversation I had with novelist, academic, and translator,  Sabata-Mpho Mokae. Do tune in to the whole episode!

Kgosi Gift Kgosierileng has been pioneering the fashion arena in a unique way by communicating his indigenous background through fashion. He is a top fashion, costume, and set designer. Kgosi is the founder of No Modern Slave by Kgosi and co-founder of Johannesburg's first concept home, Kogae The Village.  He is also an advocate for the arts in his home province, the Northern Cape. 

Meet Gift Kgosierileng, a top fashion, costume, and set designer.  Tune in to the full episode. 

Napo Masheane is an executive creative producer, multi-award-winning playwright, scriptwriter, poet, storyteller, stage director, translator, and acclaimed performer on both international and national stages. She is managing director of Village Gossip Productions, a theatre company that allows her to travel the world - directing, researching, performing, documenting, and lecturing African Theatre Her-Story. Tune in!  

Here is the trailer of the episode featuring multi-award-winning playwright, poet, and artistic director Napo Masheane. 

Jay Sebesho develops marketing, brand and communication strategies for government, parastatals and corporate brands. With over 12 years of experience, she is inspired by creating brand-to-consumer connections, as well as building brand relevance and credibility in the lives of consumers.She has worked with big B2B and B2C brands such as MTN, Jet, Unilever, RCL, as well as other brands including the big four banks in the country: Standard Bank, First National Bank, Absa, and Nedbank.   Jay has experience developing brands across multiple industries and African markets, analysing varying consumer insights, needs and behaviors.  She is founder and managing director of Janong Digital Agency in Johannesburg and she is at the forefront of the evolution of Brand Strategy thinking in a post-pandemic world. 

Here is the trailer of the first episode of season 2 of Conversations with Pioneers.  I had a chat with a brand strategist and guru Jay Sebesho. 

We'd like to thank you, our listeners and supporters, wherever you might have listening from, for a successful season 1. We've had listeners in 28 countries with South Africa in the lead, followed by Algeria, Libya, Ireland, France, the United States, Morocco, Mauritania, Bangladesh, Kenya, Canada, Malawi, United Kingdom, Botswana, Switzerland, South Korea, Guinea, Gabon, Chad, Kuwait, Denmark, Burkina Faso, Peru, Egypt, Germany, Taiwan, Ghana, and Ethiopia. Thank you! For making Conversation with Pioneers - a global podcast. Find all our Season 1 episodes on all major podcast platforms, including Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer, Spreaker and Stitcher.  Let's connect on the socials: Twitter and Instagram: @Refilwe ThobegaFacebook page: Refilwe ThobegaLinkedIn: Refilwe Thato Thobega. We look forward to your listenership and support in Season 2! We'll be back! 

Scotty Wang is a human-forward creative problem-solver, who believes in restoring dreams where hope is lost through writing, teaching and facilitating conversations. He is best known as the author of "Finding Makoti" and for his Ted Talk on "The Future of Dating & Matrimony in Africa".Scotty is the founder of Future Billionaring publishers Africa and Glooop, as well as co-founder of Aply and Think Africa - which all operate within the ecosystem of Edu-tech and focus on human design, insights, learning, development and talent management.

[Trailer] Here is what you can expect on the next episode featuring the founder of Think Africa and Future Billionaring, Scotty Wang.

Reabetswe Molapo is a strategist and millennial consultant and founder of Yung Heirz - an organisation aimed at motivating, developing and enriching young minds on topics of leadership and entrepreneurship. She is also co-founder at Think Africa - amMillennial problem-solving platform, using tech solutions.Reabetswe is passionate about mindset and human capital development, as well as influencing the trajectory of innovation among the youth of South Africa, and creating platforms, for more youth to be involved in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Here is the trailer of the next episode featuring Reabetswe Molapo, founder of Yung Heirz. 

Weza Matomane is an impeccable voice-over artist, a keynote speaker, a motivational speaker who gives inspiring talks on leadership, excellence, goal setting and teamwork. As a voice-over artist, he has been the voice of a number of brands for radio and television ads.  Weza is also a facilitator and corporate MC. He is the owner of WTG Media House where he gives masterclasses, training, coaching, and mentoring in voicework and the related. Weza is one of the sought-after male voice talents in South Africa. 

Here is a short teaser of what went down when Weza Matomane and I sat down for an episode of Conversations with Pioneers. 

This week I had a conversation with Xoliswa Moraka: "The Purposeful Entrepreneur." She is a seasoned Business Growth Strategist, Serial Mompreneur, Entrepreneurship Activist, Speaker and a Homeschool Mom of two. She also has over 12 years of experience in the human development sector. She is the Founder of Colab4Growth, a business advisory firm that enables African entrepreneurs and businesses to purposefully grow into value-adding assets through providing strategic, customised, and comprehensive solutions that equip them to transcend from survivalist to sustainable growth. Their mission is: Growing People, Growing Businesses.Over the course of her career, Xoliswa has worked with various organisations to design and execute entrepreneurship development programmes. She coaches entrepreneurs and provides strategic business building support to entrepreneurs across various industries.

Here is a short snippet of what went down between Xolisa and myself. 

House of D'Licacy is a new range non-alcoholic beverages. I caught up with the founder, Dimakatso Malwela, a day after the opening of the shop. Dimakatso is passionate about Africa and women empowerment. She aims to take her brand to other countries of the continent, as well as globally. 

Here is what is to come on the episode featuring House of D'Licacy founder Dimakatso Malwela. 

Tsotetsi Moleleki is the founder and managing director of Moleleki Property Group, which specialises in sales, rentals, property management, investments, developments, and building packages. Tsotetsi and his business partner started as short-term investors of distressed properties where they would buy them, refurbish them, and put them back in the market. They later introduced developments by offering tailor-made building packages and construction services. Tsotetsi says he would like to see more young people buy and invest in property, saying there is never a bad time to buy. 

Here is the snippet from the upcoming episode featuring realtor and property mogul Moleleki Tsotetsi of the Moleleki Property Group. The new episode goes live tomorrow (Monday). 

Lesego Seloane is an entrepreneur and environmentalist who co-founded Ronewa Creations, a landscaping company in Soweto. She is also the founder of the Green Grown Group - which teaches about the Green Economy in Soweto Schools. Lesego and I dive deep into the Green Economy, what it means, its profitability, and sustainability. She says going green is not as expensive as most people think and encourages everyone to be a little bit kinder and friendlier to the planet.

Here is what you can expect from my conversation with entrepreneur and environmentalist Lesego Seloane. 

Creative producer, writer and director Clive Mathibe draws inspiration from things that happen every day.  He says it's about learning all the time and constantly evolving the curiosity to know what more is out there. Clive wants to keep changing the narrative, to use his voice to influence, impact and to change the story wherever it is needed. He says he can not ever relax or feel like he has arrived because he is just carrying forth a baton that has been passed on to him, adding that in this field, talent is necessary, but it is not enough to have a sustainable career. "We are not in this industry to just have fun. This is our livelihood and there is so much that is needed in order to survive in this industry and to have a self-sufficient career."

I had a conversation with Clive Mathibe, South African creative producer, writer and director. This is a promo of what's to come on the episode.  

I had a remote interview with Lerato Nkuna of Johannesburg who is co-founder of a women and youth entrepreneurial mentorship programme that runs in Gauteng with the aim to spread to neighbouring provinces. Lerato and her team provide those on her programme with mobile kitchens and mobile salons. They are targeting people who are skilled but found themselves without jobs as a result of the retrenchments that followed when the pandemic started. Lerato says some people love to "work" for others while some are passionate to "run" their own businesses. Listen to the episode for more. 

Here is a trailer of our next episode featuring entrepreneur Lerato Nkuna. Stay tuned! 

Kagiso Tloubatla is the co-founder and director of SmartVest Capital, an investment company in Johannesburg which specialises in alternative assets. He is passionate about educating people about the importance of investing and addressing the social-economic issues in South Africa by making impactful investments. On this episode, we unpack what entrepreneurship means for him, what the challenges are, as well as what it takes to run an organisation such as SV Capital. Kagiso's company takes Africans back to their toots - investing in livestock. 

Here is a trailer of our next episode starring entrepreneur Kagiso Tloubatla. Stay tuned! 

I had a remote interview with Katleho Sekhotho on this episode of Conversations with Pioneers. Katleho started her career as an intern at Eyewitness News at Primedia Broadcasting, now she is on one of Johannesburg's top radio station's afternoon drive time shows Kaya Drive with Sizwe Dlomo 3 to 6 pm, anchoring news and reporting traffic. Katleho says she is encouraged by the many strides and progress that black women are making in all sectors of the world. Enjoy the conversation. CreditsBed music: Fluffy by Smith the Mister

This is a promo of the episode featuring Katleho Sekhotho that will be published on Monday! 

Welcome to Conversations With Pioneers. This episode introduces you to the podcast and gives you a taste of what's to come. Bed music: Fluffy by Smith the Mister.