Totsie Memela committed to learning and investment

"I am thrilled to have been invited to serve on the Alexander Forbes Group board," says Memela, who also chairs executive search company Memela Pratt.

"This is a career highlight for me as I believe I will bring both my business experience and commitment to the continued development of the financial solutions industry in South Africa".

Totsie Memela, CEO of Eduloan

Memela is a transformational leader in the financial solutions field, whose passion and interests span the subjects of improving the country's social wellbeing to solid business training and experience. She holds a Master's in public administration, and also completed a number of executive development and management training programmes. Before she joined Eduloan, Memela was Managing Director of Postbank, following a successful career in retail banking and financial services.

Social investment

"I am committed to giving back - it is my personal social investment," says Memela. "Whilst growing up in Soweto, my mother always told us education would take us out of poverty and this has been my own personal experience."

Memela's interests cover a wide range of social and economic matters. These include serving as a director of the International Partnerships for Microbicides, as president of the Girl Guiding Society of South Africa and as a director of financial investment company Cadiz Holdings.

As a member of the South African chapter of the International Women's Forum, Memela mentors young female leaders through the fellowship programme.

"I believe in lifelong learning," says Memela. "Our goal at Eduloan is to support this as far as possible to the benefit of individuals and of our country and continent as a whole. We have pioneered a creative approach to funding further studies in Southern Africa and have seen more than 800 000 students across the region benefit so far.

"My contribution to the Alexander Forbes board will be based on my insights and experience and I hope to gain greater depth of understanding of the broader investment scene, which in turn I can apply in Eduloan's quest to offer the most creative and supportive solutions to our learners."

Memela was nominated for a US fellowship programme at the Duke and Graduate School of Business, focusing on ethical leadership for emerging leaders from South Africa. She moved into the banking world in 1993, working her way up from Community Liaison Officer for Nedbank to Regional Manager, helping reposition the Nedcor Group as a development finance partner with the new SA government in affordable housing developments, particularly in Mpumalanga. She served as a General Manager at the Land Bank for three years, later working for FNB and for Postbank.

"When I joined Eduloan in 2010, I was excited that I would be looking for solutions to funding further education, a problem that continues to challenge so many of us in South Africa," says Memela. "My life has proved to me how education is an empowering investment in the future of individuals and of our country. I am proud to bring the deep insights I have gained to the Alexander Forbes board and to learn what I can for the good of all."