Entrepreneurs. The people who take a wild idea, root it in strategy and grow it into a game changer. Potential personified – passionate problem-solvers and long-term visionaries – existing to change the world and we exist to help them change it. We’re about educating them, supporting them, connecting them, endorsing them, championing them and celebrating them.
Entrepreneurs. The people who take a wild idea, root it in strategy and grow it into a game changer. Potential personified – passionate problem-solvers and long-term visionaries – existing to change the world and we exist to help them change it. We’re about educating them, supporting them, connecting them, endorsing them, championing them and celebrating them.
Lifelong support for a lifelong entrepreneurial journey
Overview
Our purpose is to cultivate high-impact responsible entrepreneurship. We seek out young people who have the potential to change the world with their energy, curiosity and new ways of seeing and understanding the problems we face, and how to solve them. Our role is to nurture this potential using our ecosystem of partners, programmes and resources.
The Foundation takes a holistic approach to entrepreneurship development with a focus on three critical aspects: cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in our Scholars, Candidate Fellows and Fellows; developing entrepreneurial skills in our Fellows; and being relevant in the African context while understanding global entrepreneurial ecosystems.
From one entrepreneur to many
Background
The Foundation was created in 2005 as part of Allan Gray’s vision to make a sustainable, long-term contribution to Southern Africa by nurturing the emerging entrepreneurial potential from the region.
His entrepreneurial journey has taught him that it takes time, patience and long-term support to build the kind of high-impact entrepreneurs that will make wide-reaching and significant economic and social impacts on a country. It was from this vision that the Foundation was born and now runs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.
The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation is funded by a donation of 7% of the taxed profits from Allan Gray Limited. As these may fluctuate, the commitment is supported by an endowment trust capitalised with over R1 billion, which was donated by Allan Gray.
Mission
Foster a community of responsible entrepreneurs.
Vision
An entrepreneurial, equitable South Africa flourishing with meaningful employment.
The Five Pillars
Our Five Pillars encompass the values of the Foundation and represent the traits we seek out and cultivate among Foundation Scholars, Fellows and Alumni.
All applicants are expected to exhibit an entrepreneurial attitude and a belief in the future of their country.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees acts as a strategic guide to the leadership team and supports us in ensuring we are doing our best to cultivate our future entrepreneurs with a combination of formative education and entrepreneurial development programmes.
South Africa
PROFESSOR ZANELE BRIDGETTE GASA
ChairpersonDr GASA holds BA, MA and PhD degrees in Architecture (UPE), Project Management (UKZN) and Construction Management (NMMU) respectively. In 2008 she was appointed the first-ever female and first-ever African President of the Chartered Institute of Building, and in 2010 National Planning Commissioner. In 2008 she also established The Elilox Group (Pty) Ltd. She serves on a number of boards and has been named The Department of Science and Technology’s Leading Woman Scientist in Industry (2008), South Africa’s Most Influential Business Woman in Basic Industries (2013), one of Choiseul Africa’s 100 Economic Leaders of the Future (2015) and the SADC’s Most Influential Woman in Construction (2016).
NICK KERSHAW
TrusteeNick Kershaw Trustee of Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment, Director of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Limited and Trustee of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy.
Nick was the Chief Executive of Ogier, an international legal and fiduciary services business employing around 1,000 people. He is the co-founder and chairman of an Education charity, Every Child Our Future, and Chairman of the Apax Funds board.
Nick was the Chief Executive of Ogier, an international legal and fiduciary services business employing around 1,000 people. He is the co-founder and chairman of an Education charity, Every Child Our Future, and Chairman of the Apax Funds board.
Ayanda Nogantshi
TrusteeAyanda joined Allan Gray in 2014 as Head of People Operations (traditionally called HR). Prior to joining Allan Gray, she worked as a Strategic Development Executive for the Clicks Group and held various positions within the Massmart Group. She holds a BSc in Computer Science and Physics from Wits, an MBA from GIBS, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from UKZN’s School of Business, and a Diploma in Business Analysis from the Faculty of Training Institute.
Thembalihle Baloyi
Trustee
Gary Morolo
TrusteeGary is a co-founder and director of Aka Capital, and has served as CEO of Coordinated Management Consulting as well as on numerous boards, most notably the Financial Services Board. He has also served on the St. Stithians Council in various capacities. Gary holds a BA from the University of Botswana and Swaziland, and an MBA from Michigan State University. He holds various qualifications in Leadership and Corporate Governance from institutes like the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; the Arthur D. Little Management Education Institute in Boston; and IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
MALIK FAL
TrusteeMalik grew up in Francophone Africa, was schooled in Europe and trained in the US (Babson College & Harvard). Malik built strong business foundations in earlier roles in operations at PepsiCo and strategy at Monitor Group, later extending his experience in the tech investment space with a series of Pan-African roles at Microsoft, Endeavor South Africa, Omidyar Network and now at E Squared in a trustee and executive role. Malik’s passion for ‘beneficial knowledge’ has seen him involved in related initiatives in which he co-authored a publication on enterprise solutions to poverty “In the River They Swim”, was part-time faculty on Harvard’s ‘Making Markets Work’ Africa executive program and taught elective MBA modules on competitiveness and strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Meet our Executive Committee – staples of good governance who act together, lead as one, and steer the Foundation into alignment with its mission, vision and values. They oversee our ecosystem of partners and Programme Participants, and set the infrastructure in place to produce the high-impact, game changing entrepreneurs that South Africa needs
South Africa
Yogavelli Nambiar
Chief Executive Officer
Karen Gabriels
Head of Finance
Dr Nontobeko Mabizela
Head of Impact Assurance
Deon White
Head of Information Systems & Technology
Nontando Mthethwa
Head of Public Affairs and Communications
Lolo Mini
Head of TalentTeam
Our team shares the mindset and many of the behaviours of entrepreneurs, and this means they can take the vision of cultivating a community of high-impact entrepreneurs and turn it into a daily reality.
If you would like to join our team, please take a look at our career opportunities here.
Executive Committee
Scholarship
Fellowship
Association
Impact Assurance
Strategy Communication
Finance, IT & Facilities
Data Management
Events & Logistics
Human Resources
Executive Support
Namibia
Partners
Our ecosystem of partners sits at the core of what we offer our Scholars, Candidate Fellows and Fellows. It is the power, reach and support of our ecosystem that enables us to create an environment where entrepreneurial success is possible.
If you would like to become part of our partnership ecosystem, please contact us on info@allangrayorbis.org
Established in South Africa and investing on behalf of clients since 1974, Allan Gray has grown to become Africa’s largest privately owned investment management company.
Allan Gray Proprietary Limited has pledged to donate a minimum of 5% of its pre-tax profits annually and in perpetuity to the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation.
The UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) in association with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation established the Centre in Values-based Leadership at the GSB in April 2011. Value Based Leadership focuses on the central role that values, meaning and purpose play in business. The centre is the first of its kind in South Africa, and seeks to raise important sustainability and responsible practice issues to priority status in South Africa and beyond and is committed to exploring new ways of doing business.
Rhodes University has launched the Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics (AGCLE) in 2013. The AGCLE is made possible by a renewable grant by Dr Allan Gray, a Rhodes University alumnus and honorary doctoral graduate, and the founder of the Allan Gray investment company. In creating the AGCLE, Dr Gray and Rhodes University are of one mind: our vital task is to imaginatively investigate and conceptualise what constitutes ethical and responsible leadership, to promote such leadership in diverse contexts and circumstances, and to develop education and training to foster such leadership.
The Circle of Excellence network is a Foundation initiative that celebrates and promotes the development of holistic educational excellence in South Africa. The Circle of Excellence initiative was launched in 2008 to identify and celebrate South Africa’s top secondary schools for their excellence in education and their consistent delivery of successful candidates to the Fellowship. The Circle of Excellence schools also provide the pool from which the placement schools for the Scholarship are chosen.
FAQ's
No. The Foundation is a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) created via a single primary donation. The Foundation’s funds and initiatives are managed by its respective entities in the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.
No. The Foundation’s primary focus is on cultivating an association of high-impact entrepreneurs. However, formal education is believed to be a critical element of this journey as it has been proven that individuals who have a tertiary education are more likely to succeed as high-impact entrepreneurs. Therefore, part of our support is to provide access to formal education although this is not our primary purpose.
The Foundation’s purpose is to identify entrepreneurial potential and to nurture and cultivate it through its Scholarship, Fellowship and Associate initiatives. The Scholarship programme was designed to address the lack of access to impactful education for previously disadvantaged individuals in Southern Africa and to prepare them for success in tertiary institutions.
No. The Foundation provides Scholarships and Fellowships. A bursary is generally a purely financial transaction between the bursary holder and the bursary provider. Our Scholarships and Fellowships are designed to develop a relationship with each individual, so our commitment is not purely financial.
The Foundation’s purpose is to cultivate an association of high impact entrepreneurs, which means identifying, selecting and developing individuals who show this potential. Currently, the Foundation’s largest beneficiary group is the youth. However, as our commitment is a lifelong one, our Fellows will grow up, and the nature of our community will change over time with the bulk of our Association becoming people outside of school and tertiary institutions.
No. The Foundation is not an entrepreneurship support vehicle or a venture capital fund. The Foundation identifies, selects and cultivates individuals who have the potential to become high-impact, responsible entrepreneurs.
The term, first coined by an early pioneer in the area of high-impact entrepreneurship. Endeavor, is defined as “individuals with the biggest dreams, the greatest potential to create companies that matter and grow, and the highest likelihood to inspire others.”
To us, it’s all of this and more. A high-impact entrepreneur is an individual capable of creating long-term employment and significant economic upliftment in communities, cities and countries with meaningful job creation.
