Team

Belle and Co. works with a team of experienced and skilled* Associates, networked across South Africa and the broader African region.

BELISA RODRIGUES – FOUNDER *Project management, leadership, creative arts, facilitation

Ms Rodrigues, a South African native, holds a Fine Arts, Marketing and MBA degree from University of Cape Town. Over the last 10 years has worked as Operations Manager, General Manager and Business Development Manager at various pan-African arts NGOs in South Africa. She currently runs her own social enterprise consultancy called Belle and Co, together with an Associate network of experts in training, policy and research services. She has held a number of leadership positions at the National Arts Council, African Union ECOSOCC, AVA, Music in Africa Foundation. See LinkedIn Profile here.

She is a Mandela Washington Fellow [2016].  Her passion is supporting the talent of cultural entrepreneurs across the African continent.

THOBEKA POSWA – ASSOCIATE * Community builder, Social Enterprise

Thobeka’s career over the last 20 years has been driven by her passion for social justice and development, with a focus on social entrepreneurship.

She launched TLP Services to offer entrepreneurial training (online and in-person) through delivering and facilitating workshops, including sessions for Social Enterprise Academy and SEED since 2017.

Her skills in networking, relationship building, and project management have been the foundation of providing support to Non-Profit Organisations to become emerging Social Enterprises. Thobeka’s interest in community development and empowerment, particularly of smallholder farmers, is driven by her desire to share knowledge and skills she gained while working with multi-million rand agro-businesses, as director on two boards.  See LinkedIn.

MUTSA SAMUEL – ASSOCIATE *Leadership Development, Entrepreneur, Facilitator

Mutsa is the Founder of UbuntuLab, Africa’s first and only Personal Growth Hub that deals with the holistic development of emerging market entrepreneurs, influencers and institutions. Under UbuntuLab, Mutsa has spoken in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and was invited to present Ubuntu Education in Sustainable Development at the International Sustainable Transitions (IST) Conference in Sweden. Mutsa recently published his first book: 30 Days of Transformation- A Guide to Your Authentic Self, which encourages the upcoming generation of African’s to use authenticity as the new currency for lasting change. The book is now available on Amazon. He has had book tours in Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Africa. See LinkedIn here. 

ADELAIDE CUPIDO – ASSOCIATE *Process facilitation, Project Implementation, Community builder

Over the last 12 years, Adelaide has worked as Project Leader in the non-governmental sector, Compliance Manager in local government, Management Consultant and Practicing Attorney in the private sector. She is currently the Director of Yada Network (Pty) Ltd, a company that she founded in 2018.  Yada provides process facilitation, project implementation and community building services. She is also a Board Member of the Valleys and Mountains Development Foundation. As a team member of the No-Name Initiative Dialogue Institute she facilitates pro bono dialogues in communities to unlock personal accountability toward active citizenship. She is a connector, collaborator and co-creator of value. See LinkedIn here.

NTHAKOANA MAEMA – ASSOCIATE *Social Entrepreneurship, Programme Design, Facilitation, Research, Networks

Ms Maema studied  Business Science: Finance (CA stream) (to be completed), University of Stellenbosch Business School NPO Management Programme; and a number of short courses including: GetSmarter Social Enterprise Development;  Lean Startup Principles for Social Impact; Human Centered Design Thinking and Hacking Innovative Finance. Previous positions include Income Generation Officer – Salesian Life Choices; Facilitator (by invite) – Impact Amplifier, and currently is the  She believes in harnessing social innovation and business principles to create a new culture of prosperity for the poorest, one impactful idea at a time. See LinkedIn Here.

ESPERA DONOUVOSSI – ASSOCIATE *Cultural Policy, French skills, Project Management

Mr Donouvossi, Beninese native, holds a Master’s Degree in Science of Language and Communication; another Masters in Political Sciences and International Relations from University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Espera has over 10 years’ experience working as project and program manager in Africa. He has been deeply involved in establishing, developing and coordinating several organisations and programmes in a full time capacity. He is currently studying Cultural Policy and Management, a joint Masters study programme between University of Lyon Lumière in France and University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. He has good command of French and English with fair understanding, reading  and writing of Spanish language. See LinkedIn here.

PHOKENG SETAI – ASSOCIATE *Research, Creative Arts, Decoloniality

Mr. Setai, a South African native, holds a Master’s degree in the Narrative Study of Lives from the University of the Free State. Over the past five years he has worked as a research assistant and online content manager for higher education research centre. He is currently a PhD fellow with the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape. For his PhD research he wishes to probe into the topic of decolonial aesthetics and its relevance in 21^st Century contemporary art discourse. See LinkedIn here.

MUSA MAILULA – ASSOCIATE *Research, Statistics

Mr Mailula holds a Bcom Honours in Econometrics (2010) and a Bcom Economics and Econometrics (2009) at the University of Johannesburg. Previously a Market Researcher, he is currently a User Experience Analyst. His passion in data sciences has led him to provide freelance academic support services to South African postgraduate students in both qualitative and quantitative techniques. He has been involved in Partners for Possibilities and was made a Golden Key International Honours Society member for his academic excellence. If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” – Confucius 

MOHLOMI MOTLOUNG – ASSOCIATE *Entrepreneur, Education, Engineering, Sales

Over the last 10 years, Mohlomi has worked as an entrepreneur, business manager, project manager, business development consultant, sales leader and manager in business and in the corporate sector. He is currently a Business Development Consultant for a leading short-term insurance company. Mohlomi is passionate about personal and business development and a creator of new opportunities. See LinkedIn here.

ANDILE DUBE – ASSOCIATE *Entrepreneurship, Education, Facilitation

B.com Economics and Econometrics from the University of and Johannesburg. Short Course on Human Centred Design and Design Driven Entrepreneurship from Dartmouth College. Previously an advisor to the Presidential Youth Working Group(focusing on entrepreneurship and education),  and Co-Founder, COO of Begrand Properties. Currently he holds a lectureship and is resident entrepreneur at Generation Schools. He is a founder and Creative Director of a Social Enterprise called Young Hustla Initiative, whose focus is to empower marginalized youth through entrepreneurship education. “Give a man to fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime”. See LinkedIn here.

MIRIAM AURORA HAMMEREN PEDERSEN -ASSOCIATE *Research, Anthropology, Poetry

A Norwegian national, Miriam holds a BA degree in Development Studies and a research-based Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oslo, and a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town. Her work experience spans a broad range of fields including journalistic work, education, business consulting, research communication, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Her PhD project focused on the lives and identities of White English-speaking South Africans. Miriam’s main motivation is to promote understanding between people of different backgrounds. See LinkedIn here.

ALEXANDRE RODRIGUES – ASSOCIATE *Finance, Social Entrepreneurship, Statistics, Research

ZIKHONA MADUBELA -ASSOCIATE *Social Entrepreneur, Facilitator, Public Speaker

An experienced and purpose-filled leader with strong interpersonal and organisational skills. With a strong values-based approach, she is passionate about helping other people grow and to navigate change positively and intentionally, especially in the social sector.

Recently qualified as an Associate Tutor at the Social Enterprise Academy, she has facilitated numerous workshops on design thinking, hackathons and social enterprise topics.