Meet South African impact curator Sandile Tshabalala
We continue highlighting the 2024 cohort of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation’s Leading for Humanity Programme. This week we are speaking to Sandile Tshabalala, Entrepreneur, Impact Curator, Non-Executive Director of Scouts South Africa.
We've heard about innovators, change agents and visionaries.
But have you ever heard of the term 'impact curator'?
Well, that's how local entrepreneur Sandile Tshabalala describes himself.
Tshabalala is part of the 2024 cohort of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation’s Leading for Humanity Programme.
The participants represent a diversity of sectors and has a strong South African and pan African focus, but with a global appeal.
According to Tshabalala, an impact curator is someone who thinks about making a difference in their community in an innovative and realistic way.
"In my life, I've had the task of having to create intiatives that help communities so for me, it's about how we change our society."
-Sandile Tshabalala, Entrepreneur, Impact Curator, Non-Executive Director of Scouts South Africa
To foster social repair, Tshabalala believes people have to undergo a process of "self repair".
"Coming from White River and attending UCT, has provided me with an opportunity to understand where I can come from. This is an important community in our economy and the global sphere of tourism, conservation, biology and climate change. And this programme has given me an opportunity to be a custodian of this story."
-Sandile Tshabalala, Entrepreneur, Impact Curator, Non-Executive Director of Scouts South Africa
Tshabalala says the scouts movement is an enabler and shapes young people to understand their community.
"It allowed me to be sensitive to the reality of my community in Mpumalanga. When I was 13, I was privileged to visit the Netherlands to represent Scouts SA at a jamboree for girl and boy scouts where we could facilitate change globally. More significantly, I've worked for the Public Investment Corporation and at the age of 30, I worked with the board of directors. This tells me that as a young person in SA, I am relevant."
-Sandile Tshabalala, Entrepreneur, Impact Curator, Non-Executive Director of Scouts South Africa
Scroll up for the full conversation.