Our Founder
“It was the events of July 12th, which will remain an infamy in our country’s history that became an impetus to start this Foundation. The issues confronting our country require all of us to be involved, not just elected officials, big business or civil society organisations but all of us! That’s what July 12th had taught us. The time to pontificate through arm chair analysis was over and the can could not be kicked further down the road … it was now time for action. Compassion in Action – that’s how we solve our country’s problems”
– Founder & Chief Executive Bongani Mazibuko
Bongani Mazibuko is the founder, patron and Chief Executive of the Foundation.
His passion for social impact work and his ethos behind it, is all inspired and shaped by the events of his personal life. Having lost his parents at age 10 meant that growing up for him became a struggle financially as his grandmother had to take care of the entire extended family.
These limited resources meant that he and his brother, who was four at the time, had to learn to take on entrepreneurial ventures in order to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing and other school necessities. There was never a Good Samaritan or mentors to help guide him on his career choices. These difficulties continued into university when he found himself giving up his bursary for his cousin to take his place which meant he had no resources to pay for tuition, accommodation, books etc.
It is these experiences that have shaped him as a person. His late grandmother – who remains his North Star – always ensured that they as family shared their limited resources with the rest of the community which is a lesson he holds to this very day. And his life experiences, whether it be not having a place to live in varsity after giving up his bursary, or not having mentors to guide him or continuing his mother’s legacy as a teacher and his grandmother’s legacy whose ECD centre had to shut down due to unfortunate circumstances. All of these issues are what drives the strategic objectives & focus areas of the Foundation.
He is no stranger to social impact work, when he was seconded to Nelspruit in 2015 in his professional capacity as a Regional Finance Manager for Mpumalanga, his entire focus during his personal time was on youth engagement and leadership development. In 2017, upon his return to Johannesburg he ran an initiative with a group of guys called Sanitary Warriors that distributed sanitary care packages to 12 schools ensuring over 500 school girls remained in school and not drop out for lacking sanitary wear.
Having graduated with a degree and honours in Finance and subsequent to that an MBA specialising in Strategic Management, as well as his extensive experience in the Financial Sector heading up various Business Units puts him in a unique position to steer the Foundation to have the required impact and achieve its strategic objectives.
An avid art collector, lover of flowers particularly tulips, orchids, fynbos, proteas and forget-me-nots, a foodie and a cook, as well as having travelled close to 25 cities around the world, it’s this unique experience and knowledge of human life experiences and suffering from around the world he will rely on to ensuring that the House Mazibuko Foundation not only impacts the communities and organisations we serve but also becomes a world class institution that attracts the best among us to serve alongside us.