Championing Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development with Dr. Steven Zwane

Dr. Steven Zwane is a distinguished academic, executive, and social entrepreneur with over two decades of cross-sector leadership experience spanning financial services, education, non-profit, and consulting. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Steven is the 2025 Social Impact Leader of the Year, recognised by the Future Leaders Forum for his unwavering commitment to community upliftment, entrepreneurship education, and inclusive leadership. A Nelson Mandela Scholar (2006), he holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) and MBA from Durham University (UK), and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Zululand. A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, strategy, and operations management, Dr. Zwane is the co-author: of Rising from the Township – Inspiring Stories of South African Entrepreneurs (2024)—a powerful book informed by his doctoral research, written to close the entrepreneurial role model gap and celebrate the resilience of township-born innovators; and Business By Grace, Zibusiso Mkhwanazi’s Entrepreneurial memoir on how he built a world changing advertising business with R2000 (2025). He is also the Founder and former Chairperson of the Youth Leadership & Entrepreneurship Development (YLED) NPO, which since 2004 has impacted over 20,000 Grade 11 learners through a flagship Saturday school model focused on life skills, mentorship, and entrepreneurial development. About the podcast: Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers. For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us: E: [email protected] T: 011 572 1033