Chris Williamson, MD at Vodacom MPESA, Chair at Loowatt, and an alumni of GREAT institutes of learning.    

With the rate of middle to senior management leaving Africa's shores it is wonderful for me to meet leaders who have traveled here to lead, learn and live.   Chris is an interesting, passionate individual who gives freely and is knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics.    

He has spent the past 8 years building MPESA from an edge company into a force within the Vodacom stable, bringing in 20% of revenue outside of South Africa.    

The episode varies between a technology vision discussion to a practical business management “how to” guide and a reminder of the amazing opportunities that exist on the African continent.    

Chris’s father said “find a job you could do for free” and it certainly seems like that is where Chris is in his life. This episode is for anyone who wants to learn what business is like in Africa, how to be a servant leader and why chasing your dreams is so important.   

Enjoy.  

#telecom #africa #MPESA

Today's episode dives into leadership, hard work and long hours. What does it take to dedicate one's self to improving a country. And passion. Passion for SA, passion for cyber security and a passion for doing good.   

Advocate Lufuno Thikalange Khorommbi, a specialist in Data privacy, and Cyber Security Governance, a servant of South Africa and now a member of the Critical Infrastructure Council is a pleasure to have as a guest.  

Lufuno is on a mission to educate everyone on Cyber Security and IP law so that people are afforded their rights and know what they have before signing it away due to a lack of knowledge.   

From her humble beginnings in Venda to being on one of the most important councils in South Africa, this episode is one of hope, joy and hard work. Lufuno says “change must start with us, we need to get out of a consumption mode and move into a production one.”   

Enjoy this episode and remember to leave a comment.  

#CyberSecurity #CyberLaw #PoPIA #DataPrivacy #Governance

JP Lubbe, principal of Heronbridge Preparatory, a Curro school and Ryan Haigh, principal of Crawford Preparatory Sandton.

No one doubts that Education provides an unfair advantage in a connected world. There are studies that show how quality education is a key differentiator in paving the path to success. We are often called to the importance of foundational teaching, being the building blocks of life, we see many programs where people are helping high school learners get ready for their working lives but what happens to the middle years.

South Africa has nearly 26 000 schools of which nearly 2000 are independent schools providing education to a number of learners.

In today's episode, the discussion varies between topics as diverse as what is the role of education today to what it takes to be a teacher and why. Both Ryan and JP touch on the role of technology in the lives of their learners, teachers and the parents, how COVID has impacted learners and the weight of responsibility felt by teachers.

In summary, this episode is for anyone who is interested in getting an inside view of an industry which is exploding with potential.

“Why get into teaching?” asks JP, “Well, if you want to leave a legacy, make an imprint on thousands of lives and forge new leaders, teaching is for you…”

Let's change the World…because we can

Traffickers are exploiting 25 million people annually (which is the equivalent of the entire population of Australia). These individuals are being used for the profit of their captors.

As a business, this is thriving. With over $150 Billion in profit a year it is no small wonder people are involved at all levels of society. Greed fuels this fire and the blaze is being seen from the heavens.

The numbers are staggering. The victims seem to come from middle to lower-income brackets, broken homes and people who have suffered abuse and exploitation. Is that correct?

So what is being done about it? Well, lots actually.

In today's emotional episode we meet Liz (who’s identity is hidden) an operative in South Africa who is actively working to stem the flow of human trafficking and Justin who is one of many sponsors paying to allow Liz to do her work.

Liz is working for Unchain Our Children, an NGO based in South Africa, dedicated to fighting this unseen war. As Justin says “it’s a war going on that no one is talking about.”

The conversation talks about how technology, people and the promise of a brighter future for these vulnerable people. It takes a village to save a child and we are all part of the potential solution.

Please remember to comment, like and share this really important episode.

Kim Van Kets, BA LLB, mother, wife, lawyer, speaker, consultant, trail runner, adventurer and overall too much energy for one person, person.

In today's episode, we go on a journey of hope, empowerment and the absence of excuses. Kim is a person who challenges thought in a quietly determined way. Her insights are deep and her mantra clear – “Hope is a doing word. It is not passive and it means you need to get involved.”

Kim joins us from the Eastern Cape of South Africa and clearly has a passion for her part of the country. Her digital detox comes through exploring an undeveloped countryside as well as reading copious amounts of books – of which she shares some with us.

Her challenge to us as the audience is to be mindful of our own privilege, and do what we can, where we are and with what we have.

There are many powerful challenges in this episode. Enjoy and remember to link up with Kim on her website www.kimvankets.com

Don’t forget to subscribe and like our RockIT with Chiief podcast. Any suggestions, comments or complaints are appreciated.

Getting the right skilled personnel who can adjust to change is every company's end goal. Technology evolves daily and drives transformation in the workplace.  Digital transformation requires companies to make a digital shift in their HR functions and this changes how businesses conduct their day-to-day business. 

To stay operational, businesses should rapidly adjust and keep up with the pace by staying abreast of the latest HR trends. The latest example is the shift made by the Coronavirus in workplaces globally. As much as Covid-19 was a global pandemic, African companies also had to make some huge changes in their HR functions. 

Change is here to stay therefore, organizations should adopt in order to optimize their processes and make the HR function more efficient. In this Executive Forum industry experts representing East and West Africa will give insights into the "Africa Employee Experience".  

We would be delighted if you would join us for this insightful discussion.

Bringing HR into focus across Africa as a means for attracting, developing and retaining top talent. With the continent open for business, skilled people could be the differentiator for the winning companies

Africa is a continent filled with possibilities and as Flora Kang'ethe Director - Applications Cloud Business, Kenya says “Where can you build a road in Europe, they are all built” in Africa, there is significant space waiting to be built on.

The discussion on people and how to better your management effectiveness is always a good one to have, but when it is coupled with automation, analytics and brilliant technology the discussion is even better. Ronnie Toerien - HCM Sales Development & Strategy Leader – Africa and Oludare Ogunlade - Regional Sales Director West Africa have many years of experience in this area and are quick to comment on how and where benefits can be expected.

Enjoy getting to know the people behind the Oracle brand and see their opinions on what challenges are being faced by managers across our continent.

Please remember to like and comment.

Any enterprise can fall victim to cyber-attacks, it is, therefore, essential to consider hypothetical attacks and always have a plan in action.  

Cyber-attacks are inevitable and can happen from outside or from within the organization. Adopting the Zero Trust approach can save your enterprise from a breach as all users and devices are treated as potential threats until identified and verified. 

Enterprises can use the PAM security solution as a proactive and a defensive mode towards Zero Trust. PAM minimizes the potential of a breach and also helps limit the scope of breach should it happen. Users and devices are only given the necessary levels of access to perform their duties. When it comes to identification, enterprises often prioritize IAM and overlook PAM which is equally important in that matter. 

Ethical hackers can also help organizations prevent the exploitation and vulnerabilities of their system’s data. 

Sikhululwe Khashane who is an ethical hacker will be the guest speaker, what could be more exciting than having an African ethical hacker share his expertise? 

Join experts from BeyondTrust and Ethical Hacker Sikhululwe Khashane in this not-to-be-missed African webinar as Security and Technology leaders share their insights & questions.

As the host of an African based Podcast it's always a pleasure to host people who are passionate about the country, the continent and the future of this land.

GG Alcock is such a guest. His insights are deep, his commentary clear and his enthusiasm infectious. This episode contains so many layers of “Passion Fuelled Optimism” which all combine to make a wonderful episode.

GG shares his journey in a candid way emphasising that hard work and a little luck go a long way. “Look for where your skills can take people places they can't go and you have an opportunity…” says GG.

With mass urbanisation, Africa is open for business and the scale of this cash economy is always a surprise. Technology, formal business and everyday people have an opportunity to be part of this river of money however it takes deliberate action and thought. Examining our biases is a great place to start and GG shares so much that it's hard not to.

As an avid reader, writer and speaker GG packs so much into this episode. It is not one to miss!

Remember to subscribe to RockIT with Chiief and leave us a comment….

Stacey-Lee Bolon, FNB: Commercial & Corporate Pricing & Billing || Wits University: President & Chair of Convocation

This is a proud South African leader, a  Joburg citizen through and through. Stacey-Lee has been educated here, worked here and built a life in the city of gold. At the time of recording this episode, Stacey-Lee was in Cape Town as part of a ‘work from everywhere’ trip she has been on, visiting places in South Africa and working remotely.

In summary, this episode is about drive and passion to make an impact. Stacey shares her secrets to being remotely plugged in, what tools she uses to ensure her connectivity. She dives into why we should all consider corporate work and volunteer vocations as a way of growing as well as her productivity hacks to make juggling multiple responsibilities possible.

This is a wonderful episode that explores many great topics. Please remember to subscribe and leave a comment. All suggestions are welcome. Hope you enjoy it.

#RockIT #Podcast #Remotework #Technology #MakeanImpact #volunteervocations