The Add IDEAS Podcast

“In order to help people, we need to understand them.”

In this episode of The Add IDEAS Podcast, Bandile Mndebele sits down with South African disability rights advocate Bongani Mapumulo to explore accessibility, identity, and lived experience.

From navigating public spaces to conversations about masculinity, relationships, education, and innovation, this discussion brings lived experience to the forefront of how societies design systems — and who those systems include or exclude.

Bongani shares both personal insights and professional work advancing assistive technology, inclusive design, and disability innovation in low- and middle-income contexts. The conversation highlights why understanding people and their lived realities is the first step toward meaningful inclusion.

Whether you work in policy, education, design, technology, or simply want to better understand disability and inclusion, this episode challenges us to rethink how access, dignity, and opportunity shape everyday life.

About the Guest

Bongani Mapumulo is a disability rights advocate and researcher focused on inclusive innovation and assistive technology in the Global South.

With academic foundations in Political Science, Sociology, and Social Anthropology from Stellenbosch University, Bongani also holds advanced diplomas in Disability & Rehabilitation and Intercultural Communication.

He pursued a Master of Philosophy in Inclusive Innovation at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, where his research explores how assistive technologies and inclusive design can improve opportunities for students living with disabilities in low-income communities.

Referenced Work

This conversation references the book Physical Disability and Sexuality: Stories from South Africa (2021).

Edited by Xanthe Hunt, Stine Hellum Braathen, Mussa Chiwaula, Mark T. Carew, Poul Rohleder, and Leslie Swartz, and published by Springer Nature under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Bongani’s contributions appear in:

• Chapter 6 — Physical Disability and Masculinity: Hegemony and Exclusion

• Chapter 7 — Bongani’s Story

Notable Mentions

• Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation

• Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship

• UCT Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching — One Button Studios

Connect with Bongani Mapumulo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bongani-mapumulo-828746206/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bongani.mapumulo.1

Work with Bandile Mndebele

Host Bandile Mndebele is available for speaking engagements, collaborations, workshops, interviews, and partnerships.

Contact: [email protected]

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

• (00:00) - Why this conversation matters

What happens when we stop designing for an imaginary “average” person?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with disability rights advocate and inclusive innovation researcher Bongani Mapumulo about accessibility, disability inclusion, identity, education, assistive technology and lived experience.

The conversation explores how public spaces, institutions and technologies can exclude people—and why understanding people’s real lives must come before designing solutions for them.

Inclusive design begins with listening.

Guest: Bongani Mapumulo

Topics: accessibility, disability inclusion, inclusive design, assistive technology, education, innovation, identity, universal design and technology.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

• (00:00) - Introduction

It's just us today and what a season this was. Also, we got listed on The Top 100 Outstanding Role Model Lists supported by INvolve and YouTube.

Join us for the season wrap-up and key calls to action.

00:00 - To More Top Moments

00:30 - 2024 Top Lessons

02:28 - Showing up on people's issues

05:20 - Psychological safety and values

06:40 - BTS

07:55 - What we can still do

🔗 You can view the full lists here: https://bit.ly/3Anx93M

In case you missed it:

1. Share your thoughts on the topics discussed in this episode on social media using the hashtag #addideas.
2. You can subscribe to or follow the podcast to stay updated on future episodes and milestones.
3. Leave a review for the show on your favourite podcast platform.

What kind of economic growth actually creates opportunity?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with entrepreneur Avelile Nontanda about entrepreneurship, digital business, branding, South Africa’s informal economy and the realities that shape who gets to build and succeed.

The conversation explores township economies, Black Tax, market access, digital platforms, identity and the challenge of building a more self-reliant economy.

A conversation about entrepreneurship, economic opportunity and growth beyond the usual business playbook.

Guest: Avelile Nontanda

Topics: South Africa, entrepreneurship, economic growth, informal economy, township economy, Black Tax, digital business, branding and market access.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

Briefly 1 Newsletter: Beyond Milestones

We are celebrating 1,000 downloads and community growth in our first audio newsletter.

What is covered in this newsletter:

• Thank you!
• Beyond the first time, every time
• Beyond safe spaces: building competent community
• 'No DNA, Just RSA'
• Feeling left behind: "When is our turn?"
• Evolving allyship for a more inclusive future

What does it mean to build community when everyone arrives carrying something?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with speaker, consultant and author Annemarie Shrouder about belonging, polarisation, healing, intersectionality and the lessons communities can take from the years following COVID-19.

They explore what happens when we stop expecting people to arrive perfectly healed — and start creating spaces where people can do their own work while still belonging to something larger.

Guest: Annemarie Shrouder

Topics: community, belonging, trauma, healing, polarisation, intersectionality, COVID-19, relationships, social connection and inclusion.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

What does it take to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem outside the usual centres of power?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with Hubspace founding director and venture scout Melilizwe Gqobo about entrepreneurship, township economies, patient capital, community, enterprise development and innovation.

The conversation looks beyond the mythology of the lone founder to examine the infrastructure, relationships and support systems that allow businesses to survive and grow.

Guest: Melilizwe Gqobo

Topics: entrepreneurship, startups, innovation, township economy, patient capital, enterprise development, South Africa and business ecosystems.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

Visibility is not the same thing as freedom.

Bandile Mndebele speaks with creative, writer, performer and organiser Udoka Maya Okonkwo about LGBTQ+ identity, community, Pride, self-acceptance and the difference between being seen and being free.

The conversation explores intersectionality, collective action, allyship and the importance of creating communities where people do not have to prove that they belong.

Guest: Udoka Maya Okonkwo

Topics: LGBTQ+ rights, LGBTQ+ identity, Pride, belonging, intersectionality, allyship, community, freedom and inclusion.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

What happens when inclusion becomes contested?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with DEI speaker and facilitator Roy Gluckman-John about the changing conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly in South Africa.

They explore grief, loss, belonging, community and the conversations institutions need to have when progress becomes politically or culturally difficult. A conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion, organisational culture and what remains possible when the language of inclusion comes under pressure.

Guest: Roy Gluckman

Topics: DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, South Africa, organisational culture, workplace inclusion, community and leadership.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.

What can a blind date teach us about communicating with confidence?

Bandile Mndebele speaks with communications expert and storyteller Thabani Mtsi about finding your voice, speaking with conviction and communicating ideas in ways that connect.

From public speaking and storytelling to leadership and pitching ideas, the conversation explores why communication is not simply about what we say—but how we make people feel, listen and respond.

Guest: Thabani Mtsi

Topics: communication, storytelling, public speaking, confidence, leadership, relationships, pitching, presentation skills and personal branding.

The Add IDEAS Podcast is an OTHERWISE production.