Associate Norfund | Co-founder Bono Foundation | Founder Radical entrepreneurial campaign
Tshifhiwa Munzhelele hails from a small village in Limpopo called Makonde. He is currently a private equity associate in Norfund in the clean energy department where he and his team are disbursing significant capital to clean energy projects and businesses that are solving the energy crisis in Southern Africa.
During his university studies, he co-founded an organisation called Bono Foundation that is specifically focused on bridging the knowledge gap of university opportunities for learners based in rural areas. The organisation has grown from nine founding members to over 300 volunteers and partners, helping over 10 000 learners a year across its activities (mentorship, tutoring and one of the biggest career exhibitions in Vhembe). Bono has awarded over 30 laptops to top learners over the years to assist them with settling at universities, and further partnered with bursary funds and many other firms like Moshal scholarship, Mazars and KPMG.
One of the successful strategies Tshifhiwa and his team implemented at Bono Foundation was to have a governance structure that works for young people. The founding members took the role of advisory board and put in place an executive team that rotates every three years to ensure that the team serving the beneficiaries on a day-to-day basis is more relatable to the students. They also recruit students that have been through the programme to become volunteers, and consequently the values and enthusiasm is retained.
Tshifhiwa started the Radical entrepreneurial campaign in his second year of university, influenced by the curiosity of why spaza shops in his village can sustain themselves for a period longer than 10 years but not invest in growth.
Using his CA training, he started the programme as a seminar-run type of programme to assist entrepreneurs based in rural areas with soft skills like financial skills, exploring growth, risk assessment and managing costs. He then partnered with Allan Gray Cape Town and Durban, whereby they brought in their personal finance skills training to complement the programme.
Tshifhiwa does not only help entrepreneurs but he himself has been involved in the craft. He started a company called Tutling, which is a tutoring app that connects tutors and students in real time with the tutoring session being conducted in the app through video call and texting. He was nominated as a best male entrepreneur on Mzanzi awards and won the 2020/2021 SME Toolkit Business/Partners Business Plan competition.
