Meet Your Mentors

Ignatius Odongo

Ignatius Odongo is a strategist and a PhD Candidate in Youth Entrepreneurship. He holds a Master of Philosophy in Entrepreneurship, a Master of Practicing Management, International Master of Business Administration (International Business), Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Marketing Management, and a Diploma in Mechanical & Production Engineering. Currently, he works as Director Business Development & Strategic Information for Strategic Analytics & Management PTY Ltd., a Pretoria based strategic information consulting firm. Ignatius is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM, UK) with the designation FCIM, showcasing his tremendous achievement within the marketing industry. Ignatius has also recently been appointed as a mentor of CIM’s highly valued global mentoring programme, where he will be supporting marketers of the future by utilising his industry knowledge and experience.

He has over 26 years of management and technical expertise and has implemented more than 100 consulting assignments in strategy and related areas in some 10 countries in Africa and Asia. He has experience in the following sectors: financial services (banking, microfinance and insurance), hospitality industry, small and medium sized enterprises, agriculture, consumer goods, telecommunication, education sector, utilities (water, electricity and gas), social and rural development, private security, and public health, among others.

Rapula Modibane

Rapula Modibane holds an MBA from Milpark Business School and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Pretoria. He is a business strategist and growth expert with extensive experience in financial product development, risk management, and education. He has executive level experience, overseeing project management, from inception to successful execution and evaluation. He has over three decades of experience in the banking industry. He has implemented fully optimised operational and business procedures and processes, alongside developing and maintaining financial products, as well as corporate and investment banking.

His expertise lies in cost analysis, risk analysis and value chain development. He has in-depth knowledge and expertise in driving team performance, sales, client relations, opportunity identification, product launches, marketing campaigns, market penetration, and compliance systems. Over the years he has accumulated extensive experience in corporate finance ranging from syndicated loans, commercial property finance, debt capital market, private public partnerships, and special purpose vehicle finance structures. He brings a passion for education, particularly relating to regulatory, financial and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge development.

Sydney Mohlatlego Seakamela

Sydney Mohlatlego Seakamela holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology & Sociology), Bachelor of Honours (Industrial Sociology), and an Advanced Diploma in Labour Law. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in ICT Policy and Regulation (Wits). For over 25 years, he has been involved in consulting, managing, training and commercial experience in wide range of business sectors and companies such as health, mining, engineering, hospitality, ICT, electrical, publishing and the water sector. He also ventures in businesses of his own and trading under Sydney Seakamela & Associates, Techno Compliance SA Pty Ltd, Seabo Mining & Engineering Pty Ltd, Seams Telephone Networks Pty Ltd. The aforesaid initiative demonstrates his passion in business and entrepreneurial spirit.

Shan Naidoo

Shan Naidoo is a socio-economic impact specialist. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Informatics from the University of South Africa (UNISA). His expertise lies in business intelligence, business analysis and business process development and management. Shan has extensive experience in delivering customer centric and social development solutions in communities whilst building self-sustainable eco-systems. He is very familiar with tools and techniques for driving customer centric business models to improve customer experience and lock-on. Shan has worked in systems analysis and software development in the banking sectors across the African continent.

Dr Norah Njuba Bwaya, PCC

Dr Bwaya is an organisational development consultant and an ICF accredited Executive Coach (PCC), facilitator / trainer and public speaker. She holds a Professional Doctorate in Executive Coaching from Middlesex University (UK); Certified Professional Coach (CPC) – International Coach Academy (Australia); Associate of the Australian Insurance Institute; and Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting) Hons (Makerere University).

Norah has over 30 years of working experience across 4 sectors (accounting, marketing, insurance, coaching) in 21 countries. She has served top executives in over 100 organisations over the past 16 years. She founded Coach Africa Limited a performance enhancement firm, and the first professional coaching firm in Eastern Africa in 2006; and she birthed the idea of the Institute of Work Culture and Ethics in 2008.

Professor Gerd Junne

Professor Gerd Junne is an academic entrepreneur who translates academic insights into concrete projects in the fields of diaspora policy and social entrepreneurship. He studied political science, law and economics. He obtained a PhD in Economies at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Genève (1966-1970). He worked as a lecturer at the universities of Berlin (FU), Bremen and Konstanz (1970-1979) and as associate professor at the University of Amsterdam (1979-1982). He is a professor emeritus (Chair in International Relations at the University of Amsterdam), School of Social Sciences (1982-2011), director of The Network University (TNU), Board member of War Child Holland and Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation, Research Fellow at the Post-War Reconstruction and Development Unit of the University of York, member of the Steering Committee of the Cultural Emergencies Response programme of the Prince Claus Fund.

His main research interests include interaction between political and economic development, conflict studies, post-conflict development, migration, social cohesion, e-learning. He has carried out research and evaluation projects for (among others) the United Nations, FAO, ILO, the European Union, the VW Foundation, the Rathenau Institute, the German Parliament, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch Ministry of Transport, Dutch National Research Program on Air Pollution and Climate Research. Professor Junne has had experience working in several countries in Africa including Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Sam Bwaya

Sam Bwaya is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK (FCCA) and holds a Masters in Accounting and Management Science from the University of Southampton (UK) and a Bachelors of Law (LLB) from Makerere University. He is the Executive Director of the Institute of Work Culture and Ethics, an Organisational Development company whose goal is to enhance organisational and individual performance by fostering ethical work culture at personal and organisational levels. He is a seasoned leader with a finance and legal background and has 20 years’ working experience at top management level. He has over 25 years’ audit and assurance experience and has overseen more than 200 audits annually with organisations spread across the Region (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo).

He has a rare combination of legal, finance, auditing, business and leadership skills. He has dealt with a wide range of organisations with different challenges. This combination places him in a unique position to carry out business diagnoses. He adds value to organisations by trouble shooting and recommending ways of strengthening operations and internal controls. He is a very experienced facilitator and has facilitated many retreats across the Eastern African Region. He is passionate about personal effectiveness and performance enhancement. He serves on several boards of profit and not for profit organisations.

Dr Caroline Ntara

Caroline Ntara is a business scholar, lecturer and researcher. She recently obtained a Ph.D. In International Business, and holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. She has extensive experience in mentoring learners using project-based learning, through which she has guided many of them to start their own businesses in both Kenya and Ghana. She guides learners to development both project and funding proposals and conducting market analyses. She has guided learners to set up projects in agriculture, digital marketing, the beauty industry, clothing, and online product marketing and distribution.

Caroline has extensive experience in supporting small and medium sized enterprises particularly in terms of accessing financing from the banking industry. She previously worked in the banking industry where she was responsible for processing of hundreds of loans to support small businesses and start-ups.