Bongiwe Beja-Ntsiko is a Chartered Development Finance Analyst (CDFA), a GrowthWheel Certified Business Advisor and social impact executive with over 15 years’ experience with expertise spanning youth development, entrepreneurship and SMME development.
Prior to joining AVPA, Bongiwe was the Senior Regional Manager of Africa at beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, where she cultivated regional partnerships with corporate, ecosystem and green economy stakeholders, strengthening relationships across markets and supporting a pan-African community of young eco-preneurs. Prior to this, she was an EXCO member and Business Development and Strategy Lead at the Youth Employment Service (YES), South Africa’s largest private-sector youth employment programme, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018.
She holds an MCom in Development Finance (cum laude) from the UCT Graduate School of Business. Her leadership and contribution to youth and economic development have been recognised through her inclusion in the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans (2022) and her recognition by Avance Media as the 11th Most Influential Young South African (2018), where she received the overall award in the Personal Development and Academia category.
Bongiwe serves as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board at Regive Capital and is a Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Development Finance (CIDEF). She has previously served as Observer Director at Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), a Youth Trustee Fellow of the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation (FREF) and as Southern African Region Community Champion within the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum.
As an experienced moderator, MC and public speaker, Bongiwe uses her expertise in strategy, governance, entrepreneurship development and ecosystem building to help organisations deliver inclusive and sustainable impact across Africa.