Our pitch event on the 29th of June 2021 was one-of-a-kind for us because for the very first time our pitch panel consisted of South African women and we officially introduced Kiva to the South African market.

 

Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. This time around our women of colour got the opportunity to pitch for an interest-free loan to a phenomenal panel of women that are key professionals within their fields and are vested in the empowerment of women of colour.

 

Thumeka Henkeman is CA(SA) by profession and is a Senior Audit Manager at Ernst and young with experience in Asset and Wealth management. She is also a mental health advocate and is a notorious collector of Nike sneakers.

 

Sibongile Khumalo is the Executive Director at The Learning Trust and a Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, 2016 and Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans, 2013. She has over 12 year's experience within the non-profit sector and by day dabbles as a yogi in Vinyasa and Kundalini yoga.

 

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Impacting over 30 small businesses in South Africa should be in her bio! Denise Lawson Curry is our Founding Funder and by day is a Retail and Brand Partnerships Executive.

 

"Disrupt your life, it is necessary for change, live beyond the fear!"

Tshepiso Machele is a CA(SA) and the Founder of INTU SKIN. She was recently a guest speaker at one of our weekly classes and brought in her experience of pitching at the world-renowned school of entrepreneurship in Berlin!