Keynote speaker, digital innovation strategist and technology transformation advisor.
Executive teams, innovation leaders, digital transformation units, corporate strategy groups and organisations seeking practical, future-ready innovation frameworks.
HOW IMMERSIVE DIGITAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES COULD CHANGE THE FACE OF EDUCATION
Subtitle: Leveraging AI and VR technology to skill at scale
Synopsis: We desperately need a shared language that speaks precisely to the skills and capabilities we need to develop in young people to thrive in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
Charles Darwin hints at what we need to thrive in the future – it is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change’.
Darwin speaks to ‘responsiveness’ being the decisive survival trait. Should we not then define intelligence, in terms other than IQ or EQ, and rather our ability to respond to change, to react to the tasks of work and life, to demonstrate the agility we seek in businesses today?
Subtitle: Realizing your potential through greater awareness
Synopsis: Self-awareness is the meta-skills of the 21st century. The research shows that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident, more creative, we make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively.
Subtitle: Creating sustainable value for all
Synopsis: The age of sustainably achieving profits by making money out of others is fast disappearing into the distance.
It is no longer sufficient to score singular wins. The new economy demands that innovation and new solutions create shared value, where you make money, by making money with your customers – for your customers.
Creating value for all, entails applying a form of innovation that is inspired by experiential wisdom – experience of the context and problem; raising awareness beyond one’s immediate end-goal to see the whole chain of needs for all players; and step-wise iterative progress that integrates data and feedback gained from each step forward.
Rapelang Rabana brings her experience as a technology entrepreneur as well as global examples to drive key lessons for creating sustainable value for all.
Rapelang Rabana is an award-winning technology entrepreneur, digital strategist and innovation leader known for translating emerging technologies into practical business and social value. A true digital native, she built her first startup, Yeigo, straight out of university and has since spent more than 16 years founding, scaling and advising technology-driven organisations. Her expertise spans digital transformation, data-driven experimentation, edtech, and impact-scale innovation.
Recognised globally for her contributions, Rapelang has been featured on the cover of Forbes Africa before the age of 30, named Entrepreneur for the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Her career includes serving as Chief Digital Officer of one of South Africa’s largest IT companies, co-founding FFWD Innovation to accelerate corporate innovation, and co-founding the $6.5m Grindstone Ventures fund to support high-growth African startups. She also helped establish and lead the Norrsken Impact Accelerator, part of one of the world’s largest impact investment platforms.
In 2023, Rapelang became Co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide, an organisation delivering tablet-based literacy and numeracy programmes across seven African countries.
With Rapelang Rabana, you get to see digital technology through the eyes of a practical, hands-on innovator. From her first startup, straight out of university, Yeigo, to Chief Digital Officer of South Africa’s largest IT company, Rapelang is a true digital native. Her talks and masterclasses reverse-engineer her 16+ years of experience in building tech companies, unpacking all things digital in a meaningful way to extract tangible business and social value.
Featured on the cover of Forbes Africa magazine before the age of 30, named Entrepreneur for the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum – Rapelang is an internationally lauded technology entrepreneur.
Rapelang Rabana provides hands-on digital innovation expertise, as well as a founding partner at FFWD (fast forward) Innovation, which helps companies innovate faster through data-driven experimentation. In 2021 she co-founded $6.5m VC fund Grindstone Ventures, as well as Norrsken Impact Accelerator, part of one of the world’s largest impact funds, all to support and fund high-impact entrepreneurs.
In 2023, Rapelang Rabana became the Co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide, an NGO operating across 7 African countries, providing tablet-based learning programs to develop literacy and numeracy skills in millions of young children. In partnership with the government of Malawi, Imagine is implementing the tablet program in all primary schools — projected to serve 3.5m students annually at full scale.
Rapelang is also the Founder of Rekindle Learning, a dynamic edtech company that enables organizations to easily codify and share institutional know-how amongst their teams to drive business performance. Rekindle Learning, which was profiled in the McKinsey Lions go Digital report as a striking innovation in learning.
Rapelang Rabana has spoken at over 300 occasions on local and international platforms and has shared a stage with the likes of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell. She obtained B. Business Science (Computer Science Honours) and an M.Sc from the University of Cape Town, giving her a technical and business background. She has since believed that there had to be better, simpler more effective ways to do things – and there is using digital technologies.
Recipient honours and awards: Young Global Leader; Cover Forbes Africa before 30; Forbes 30 under 30 – Africa’s Best Young Entrepreneurs; Fast Company Maverick; Choiseul 100 Africa; World Summit Awards Juror; Harambe Entrepreneur, Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneur; Oprah Mag O Power List
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