Johannesburg – MTN executive Yolanda Cuba has roped in the big guns to mentor young people as part of her foundation’s contribution to mark Nelson Mandela Day.
The Mentorship Boardroom (TMB) will allow young South Africans to be mentored for 67 minutes by captains of industry and the country’s thought leaders.
This #67MinutesofMentorship is endorsed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The event will see actuaries, neurologists, CEOs of listed companies, successful entrepreneurs, top-rated journalists, media owners, top executives in technology, financial services, property and many others sheet their tips to success.
MTN head honcho Ralph Mupita, University of Free State chancellor Bonang Mohale, University of Cape Town boss Mamokgethi Phakeng, former Mvelaphanda bigwig Tokyo Sexwale and 91 other luminaries will mentor the mentees.
Cuba said the event would be a yearly event, which was her way of giving back to society.
“TMB is a platform that is being built by my foundation to ensure that people from all walks of life can benefit from the collective experience and wisdom of society,” she said.
“I saw how I benefited from mentorship. It literally allowed me to dream beyond what I thought was possible and ignited a belief in me that I could move from a child from the dusty streets of Daveyton/ Duduza/Guguletu to some of the best boardrooms in the world.”
Cuba started formal mentoring when she became deputy CEO of Mvelaphanda Holdings back in 2003.
“At TMB, as my mentor would say, “we irrigate the mind” because our belief is that “a mind once stretched to new ideas, never returns to its original shape,” Cuba said.
“All that potential mentees had to do is e-mail us and tell us who they are, what they do, select three mentors and give us a motivation on why they selected their mentors. The motivations have been heart-warming. I hope that our mentors and mentees will share their experiences after the Nelson Mandela Day event.”
Cuba’s foundation will also host a round-table discussion with Sello Hatang, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Kone Gugushe, who is CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Sexwale, Mohale and Cuba tonight to discuss The Leadership Philosophies of Mandela in Modern Times.
Cuba currently holds the position of MTN Group vice-president for the Southern and East African MTN markets.
She is the first woman to be confirmed in this position in MTN’s history.
Her illustrious career has seen her named one of the youngest CEOs of a JSE-listed company at the age of 29.
She was also selected as one of the Young Global Leaders in 2008, an initiative by the World Economic Forum and named one of the “20 Youngest Power Women in Africa” by Forbes Magazine in 2011.
Her foundation was deliberate to have women mentees as she is passionate about girls and women being given opportunities.
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