Rural Enterprise and Economic Development in Southern Africa
For the youth…
…and for the future
…and for the future
More than 200 combined years of experience as social and corporate entrepreneurs in the research, development and implementation of technology-intensive, science-rich solutions for development-through-enterprise in Southern Africa — acknowledging and incorporating the indigenous knowledge systems of local people.
REEDiSA — Rural Enterprise and Economic Development in Southern Africa — grew out of nearly three decades of action research at the CSIR Meraka Institute in ICT for development (ICT4D) and rural enterprise and economic development. Over time our team moved from providing ICT systems for development to a “development through enterprise” approach built on warm-blooded, technology-equipped human networks.
Our personal mission is simple: to equip techno-socio-economic development champions to beat swords into plowshares — for the youth, and for the future.
Our extended team includes Rensie van Rensburg (Initiative Manager), Mike Ofori-Appiah and Chris Krause (Analysts), Braam Cronje and Ivan Groenewald (Regional Implementers), a network of community change agents (Ockert, Robert, Shumani, Joel, Phopi, Pinky and others), Emmanuel Haruperi (Community Learning), Uys du Buisson (M&E), Sibongile Moabelo (SMME Development), Elthea Schlesinger (Communication Support), Richard & Vernon Schley (Agricultural Specialists) and Helene van Rensburg (Trainer).
Initiative Manager · CEO
Signal Squadron Commander, Army Gymnasium, Heidelberg · Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Torque IT, Pretoria
Rensie has been active in the Technology-for-Development arena for over 25 years, managing large portfolios of systemic science, engineering and technology interventions aimed at rural innovation. These have been opportunities to scope, design and implement systemic and holistic rural-innovation programmes that target the appropriate sub-systems (including education) as catalysts for broader rural socio-economic development. He has served as CSIR Key Account Manager for the Departments of Rural Development & Land Reform and of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs, and was Principal Investigator of a study into the integration of services for Local Economic and Enterprise Development. His practitioner and management experience spans South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Argentina and the wider SADC region — from electronic-warfare command and the TouchAfrica™ system to the Sekhukhune Rural Living Lab, Tech4RIED and the Agri-Park initiative.
Regional Implementer
BA, Potchefstroom University · Higher Education Diploma (Guidance) · PES Programme in Entrepreneurial Skills, University of North-West
Braam implemented the CSIR project at the Tshipakoni Agricultural School in the Vuwani area of Limpopo, inducting Infopreneurs who collected 1 500+ agri-business records and completed a Human-Centred Design course. He uses the Infopreneur network to support start-up small farmers with planning, production, harvesting, processing and marketing. As a former Vodacom Community Services franchisee he established 600+ community public phones in Vhembe and parts of Mpumalanga, then surveyed 4 000+ SMMEs in Makhado and built databases of enterprises and indigenous knowledge for the Department of Science & Technology — work later extended to Chimoio, Mozambique.
Monitoring & Evaluation
BSc (Mathematics & Statistics), UCT · Diploma in Tertiary Education, UNISA · MDP, UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership
Uys has broad research, planning, implementation and evaluation experience in economic-development initiatives, working with science councils, all tiers of government and business to design frameworks for socio-economic development. His M&E experience spans more than 12 years of CSIR Meraka Institute projects — rural ICT centre deployment, Schoolnet case studies, the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge project across 12 countries, and agricultural-development evaluation in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo — using the TouchAfrica data system, the logical-framework approach, Outcome Mapping and the narrative approach. He co-authored the Agri-Business for Learners (ABL) and Agri-Business for Communities (ABC) manuals.
Regional Implementer
B.Com, UWC · B.Ed, Stellenbosch · Higher Diploma in Education, UWC · Certificate in Small Business Management, UNISA
Ivan contributed substantially to the LED strategy for the Namakwa Region of the Northern Cape as LED Manager for the Namakwa District (2002–2010), and now provides strategic support and advice to SMMEs through his firm, IBG Business Consulting and Support CC. His combination of commercial and people skills lets him work across many types of people and teams. Earlier roles include centre manager of the NAMBID Local Business Service Centre, lecturing at the Namaqualand Technical Training Institute, and teaching commerce and business economics at secondary-school level.
Community Learning
Bachelor & Honours in Business Studies, University of Zimbabwe · MBL, UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership · Certificate in Monitoring & Evaluation, University of Zimbabwe
Emmanuel brings expertise in business management, community and organisation development, and leadership development. He has worked in eight sub-Saharan countries as lead consultant for the W.K. Kellogg Africa Programme and in partnership with the CSIR Meraka Institute, developing people and impacting socio-economic transformation. He was active in the REEDiSA project at the Tshipakoni Agriculture School and Nesengani Irrigation Scheme, developing Infopreneurs as community change agents, and is involved in the Centre of Agribusiness (CEPAGRI) in Chimoio, Mozambique.
SMME Development
Bachelor of Law, University of Natal · Diploma in Labour Law · Permaculture (Basic & Advanced) · HR Management Certificate, Damelin
Sibongile is an experienced labour practitioner combining a corporate employment-law background with expertise in rural sustainable projects and regulatory compliance. She is passionate about mentoring local small businesses, developing innovative HR solutions for start-ups and micro-enterprises that result in business sustainability. She initiated sustainable community agri-projects in the Cofimvaba District, co-developed the ABL and ABC training programmes, and mentored youth entrepreneurs across several industries.
Communication Support
BA Communication & Honours, Potchefstroom University
Elthea grew up in the Soutpansberg, Limpopo — proudly South African and a proud resident of Limpopo. Her career spans journalism (Chamber of Mines, Sanlam, freelance for the Jerusalem Post), bookshop co-management in the former Venda, avocado farming in the Levubu valley, building and landscaping, and, since 2012, freelance marketing, website content-writing and photography for the CSIR, Madi a Thavha mountain lodge and the National Arts Council’s CraftArt development programmes. She led the Human-Centred Design certificate course for PASA through the CSIR. Her interests: sustainable eco-friendly design, recycling and up-cycling for functional CraftArt, human behaviour and brain science, indigenous trees and peoples, and outdoor nature sports.
Trainer · Director
Higher Education Diploma, Potchefstroom · Diploma in Remedial Teaching, Pretoria · ACE Mathematics (Intermediate & Senior Phases), UNISA
Helene has 28 years of teaching experience across primary and secondary schooling in Southern Africa, specialising for the last 17 in mathematics and mathematical literacy at secondary level. She has a deep understanding of the numeracy challenges faced by learners from (primarily) rural areas and, as a qualified remedial teacher, uses those skills to help learners overcome them. A lifelong sports coach with a great love for music and choir coaching, she has run her own primary-school hockey club and competed in strong leagues. She is a Director and the registered owner of REEDiSA (Pty) Ltd.
Techno-socio-economic Research, Development and Implementation Practitioners.
