Rapelang Rabana is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and a keynote speaker. She is currently the Co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide, a global education technology NGO that provides foundational learning solutions to children across Sub-Saharan Africa. [1] Prior to joining Imagine Worldwide, Rapelang was Founder and Chair of Rekindle Learning, [2] a learning technology company; and previously co-founded Yeigo Communications, South Africa's first free VoIP mobile services provider. [3] [4]
She has been featured on the cover of ForbesAfrica magazine, selected as a FastCompany Maverick, named Entrepreneur for the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum and selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. [5]
Rapelang was born in Gaborone, Botswana. [6] She started her schooling in Gaborone before moving to Johannesburg and attended Roedean School. [7] Rapelang graduated with honours from the University of Cape Town in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Business Science with a specialty in Computer Science. [8] Rapelang returned to the University of Cape Town to give a commencement speech in 2019. [9]
After graduating from university, Rabana co-created the VoIP mobile application called Yeigo in 2006. In 2009, Telfree, a South African next-generation operator, bought a majority stake in Yeigo. Rabana was appointed as the leader of Telfree's Research and Development department until she exited the business in 2012. [10]
In 2014, Rabana founded Rekindle Learning, which empowers people to respond to the changing world of work through digital learning experiences. [11] In November 2017, Rapelang was named Chief Digital Officer of BCX where she served until the end of 2018. [12] In 2023, Rapelang was named Co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide. [13]
In 2012, she was on Oprah Magazine's O Power List. In 2013, she was listed on Forbes's 30 under 30 list for best entrepreneurs of Africa. [14] In 2014, Rapelang was named one of the Entrepreneurs of the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum. [15] In 2017, Rapelang was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. [16]
Rapelang was invited to join the World Economic Forum 2012 Annual Meeting in Davos. She was also selected as a Global Shaper later a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She is an Ambassador and Juror for the United Nations World Summit Awards. Rapelang gave the keynote address at Gartner Symposium 2015 in Cape Town. [17]
The Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, as well as executive education. Its degree programs are among the most selective in the world. MIT Sloan emphasizes innovation in practice and research. Many influential ideas in management and finance originated at the school, including the Black–Scholes model, the random walk hypothesis, the binomial options pricing model, and the field of system dynamics. The faculty has included numerous Nobel laureates in economics and John Bates Clark Medal winners.
Roedean School for Girls is a private English medium and boarding school for girls situated in the suburb of Parktown in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa.
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INJAZ Al-Arab is a non-profit organization for education and training in workforce readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship across the Arab World. INJAZ Al-Arab is the Regional Operating Center of JA Worldwide (JAW), one of the largest global non-governmental organizations dedicated to addressing fundamental social and economic challenges faced by young people. INJAZ Al-Arab is also an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact. Over 6 million students have participated in a broad base of entrepreneurship training opportunities aimed at developing basic business skills to start and run their own businesses while obtaining soft skills increasingly demanded by the private sector. Since its inception, INJAZ Al-Arab has built a network of over 100,000 classroom volunteers, who are leaders from the corporate world. INJAZ Al-Arab has a Regional Board of Directors, which comprises 15 executives, as well as a team of staff, led by Akef Aqrabawi, President and CEO of the Middle East/North Africa for JA Worldwide.
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Dr Divine Ndhlukula is a Zimbabwean businesswoman, founder and Managing Director of DDNS Security Operations (Pvt) Ltd which is the holding company for SECURICO Security Services. Dr Ndhlukula is the past president of Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) and Chairperson for Women’s Desk.
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Claudia Olsson is a Swedish technology expert, business leader, and speaker with a background in engineering and economics. She is CEO and founder of Exponential AB, founder of Stellar Capacity AB, an Associate Faculty member at Singularity University, a David Rockefeller Fellow at the Trilateral Commission, as well as a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum.
Precious Moloi-Motsepe is a South African philanthropist and fashion entrepreneur. One of the richest women in South Africa, she started her career as a medical practitioner, specializing in children and women's health. In September 2019 she was elected Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, succeeding Graça Machel, and beginning her ten-year term on 1 January.
Tania Habimana is a Rwandan Belgian entrepreneur and television presenter.
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organized by the federal government of the United States, in partnership with foreign government hosts. The summit originated from an event organized by the Obama Administration called the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, which was held in April 2010 in Washington, D.C. It brought together entrepreneurs from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to discuss the importance of social and economic entrepreneurship, establish entrepreneurship as an important area of policy focus, and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between entrepreneurs.
Foster Awintiti Akugri is Ghanaian entrepreneur and the founder and president of Hacklab Foundation, a non-profit organisation that promotes and empowers young entrepreneurs using technology in Ghana to solve local issues and create jobs. He is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.He was the youngest participant at the World Economic Forum's 48th Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland in 2018. Driven by his life's purpose to helping people find their path, Foster launched GrowthWithTiti in January 2021, an initiative with the mission to break down the complexities of finding your purpose, defining your mission, and navigating the grey to crush your goals. He hopes to leverage this platform to reach and impact one million people by 2025.
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Anisha Singh is an Indian businesswoman and founder of She Capital, a diversity focused venture capital fund that focuses its investments on Women-led/focused startups. She is also the founder and former CEO of Mydala.