Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders Today

Professional Overview:

Vanessa Mdluli is the Director of Simke Consulting, a company she founded in 2020 with the mission to provide essential business services while addressing the high rate of youth unemployment in South Africa. Recognizing the importance of development and job experience for the youth, Vanessa established Simke Consulting to make a tangible impact in this area. Her entrepreneurial journey is rooted in over a decade of experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, where she discovered her passion for business and leadership.

Professional Experience:

Vanessa’s career began in Alexandra, where she started as a Personal Assistant at a non-profit organization. Over the next six years, she progressed through roles as Office Administrator and Operations Manager in various corporate companies. This diverse experience provided her with a solid foundation in business operations and inspired her to pursue entrepreneurship. At Simke Consulting, Vanessa leads the company’s strategic direction, focusing on empowering the youth and supporting business development initiatives.

Professional Overview:

Kgomotso Mahuma is a skilled professional specializing in Supplier Development (SD) strategy implementation within the framework of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and the Competitive Supplier Development Programme (CSDP). His expertise includes ensuring compliance with national policies and driving consistent SD implementation across Transnet Capital Projects. Kgomotso is adept at conducting research to support policy development, providing thought leadership, and contributing to SD strategy and process improvement. He also leads training initiatives to enhance SD compliance and reporting, fostering sustainable supplier development.

Professional Experience:

As a Supplier Development Specialist at Transnet Capital Projects, Kgomotso oversees SD strategy implementation, conducts research and analysis for BBBEE and CSDP initiatives, contributes to regional integration and supplier development efforts, and compiles reports to track and support policy compliance and success.

Professional Overview:

From 2015 to 2019, Ykuthiel was a Resident Liaison, managing community education on fibre networks, coordinating rollout strategies, and facilitating skills transfer on fibre benefits.

From 2019 to 2024, he served as Assistant Project Manager, overseeing fibre installation projects, managing stakeholders, ensuring quality assurance, and guiding projects from initiation to completion.

Professional Experience:

From 2015 to 2019, Ykuthiel worked as a Resident Liaison at Vumatel, where he was responsible for educating communities about the fibre network and its implementation process. He played a key role in managing the rollout strategies and timelines, conducting feasibility studies for targeted areas, and facilitating skills transfer by helping residents understand the benefits of fibre technology for home use.

Between 2019 and 2024, Ykuthiel served as an Assistant Project Manager at BritelinkMCT. In this role, he oversaw fibre installation projects, ensuring they met scope, budget, and timeline requirements. He successfully managed stakeholder relationships, facilitated community engagement, and monitored quality assurance processes. Ykuthiel was instrumental in obtaining technical approvals and guiding each project from initiation to completion.