University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika

Block Chain Academy

Alexandra High School - KZN

University of the Witwatersrand

Board Member at Africa Fintech Network

Gift.mu

Vice Admiral

Venture Foundry Africa

CEO & co-founder

- Design and execute programmes for east Africa
- Coach/Mentor start-ups from 3 African countries
- Train the trainer facilitation
- Pitch Training for entrepreneurs

UVU Africa

Entrepreneur Development & Lead coach/mentor 

Africa Fintech Network (AFN) is a platform that unites Africa fintech leaders, organizations and stakeholders through their country associations to exchange information and ideas, promote and support creation of innovative technologies and deployment across and beyond Africa. The network also serves as a platform for advocacy and coordinated regulatory interactions.

Africa Fintech Network

Board Member

Hired by the founding board to start the Mauritius Fintech Association (Operating as MAFH), with a government mandate to build and position Mauritius as a fintech hub for the African continent. Core focus being Mauritian for Africa.

Responsibilities include:
- consolidating and building the local fintech ecosystem
- collaborations with other African countries
- working with high level government organizations in terms of strategy and execution
- working with private sector, academia and start-ups to ensure alignment around regulation, innovation, capacity building and entrepreneurship
- advising various ministries on the country strategy, with regards to fintech
- growth of the association/hub in becoming a regional and global player
- reporting to an independent, international board

Part of:
- Business Mauritius : Fintech sub-committee
- Financial Services Consultative Council (Ministry of Financial Services : Mauritius 2030 Financial Blueprint with focus on Fintech)
- Bank of Mauritius (Central Bank) : Fintech Committee
- Mauritius Finance : Fintech Technical Committee

Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub

Passionate about empowering and uplifting women through entrepreneurship and skills. Non executive role with the following portfolios:

- Funding committee
- Finance committee

WHEAT Trust

Exco level position being responsible for the holistic growth, operations, development of the division and all associated responsibilities.

Areas of responsibility include:
-	Business development for the division
-	Strategic development and implementation for the division
-	Strategic alignment with CiTi goals and objectives holistically
-	Full responsibility for the P&L of the division and all financials
-	HR oversight and screening of new candidates
-	Assisting on cluster development (Fintech, TravelTech, AgriTech, BioTech etc.)
-	Developing and taking new products to market 
-	Building and maintaining high level client relationships and networks
-	Building and implementing systems throughout the divisions
-	Building partner relationships across various new green fields projects
-	Reporting directly to the CEO
-	Working with selected entrepreneurs on strategy and sales (mentorship)

Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi)

Head of Entrepreneur & Enterprise Development

This role has 2 primary areas of responsibility;
1) Day to day operations of the Entrepreneur and Enterprise Development programmatic development and support at Woodstock, and any other branch that requires this support
2) Project management, new programme development, continuous improvement of all systems, reporting and client relationship management

Areas of responsibility include:
- Programme Development
- Programme Roll out:
- Programme Measurement & Evaluation
- Reporting
- Suppliers
- Budgets
- Operations Management
- Human Resources
- External stakeholder engagement
- Establishing funding networks for entrepreneurs
- Providing supply chain opportunities for entrepreneurs

Enterprise & Entrepreneur Development Manager

- This role was focussed on B-BBEE Advisory, specifically with the implementation of the 2013 B-BBEE codes
- Working with locally listed and unlisted entities on B-BBEE strategies
- Working with multinational companies in designing strategies to maximise the point allocation on the scorecard, while fundamentally implementing transformation in line with the spirit of the codes
- Performing B-BBEE audits, reporting and presenting to various stakeholders within our clients organisation. These audits were designed using internally built algorithms to raise potential red flags around current suppliers, and their effect on our clients B-BBEE rating  
- Solving Enterprise and Supplier Development challenges, namely Procurement, which became a crucial element of the new scorecard
- Overseeing the implementation of our client Enterprise and Supplier Development strategies and programmes
- Advising Exco and senior management on the impact of the new codes, while highlighting
business risks and solutions
- Working with Procurement Managers to solve their sourcing challenges
- Transforming existing suppliers and building new transformed entities to solve Procurement issues
- Facilitating Venture Capital to ensure growth of newly transformed entities, in order for them to meet the clients large scale requirements
- Building transformed Level 1 or Level 2 EME companies, with the aim of creating Black Industrialists
- Working with various stakeholders such as, Empowerdex (BEE Rating Agency) with the aim
of ensuring all documentation is available during audits, anticipating the point allocation for
the various elements etc.
- Working with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to get a better understanding of where the codes would go next
- Training on the new codes to internal and external staff, management and suppliers

ESD Transformation Specialist

A multi-purpose role, working at an executive level, with a wide variety of stakeholders throughout all aspects of the company. The duties and KPI’s were based on three areas, namely:

Product Development
- Building and maintaining long term relationships with a large network of suppliers
- Designing and implementing a variety of new products and projects across the entire company
- Rolling out of systems and procedures in order to simplify links between consumers and suppliers 
- Building networks for a B2B and B2C environment
- Maximizing value add services in virtual incubation and SME business support services

BBBEE Advisory
- BEE advisory component, specialising in the Enterprise & Supplier Development (ESD) component
- Working closely with Procurement Manager to align their spend with the 2013 BBBEE codes 
- BEE Enterprise Sales to large corporates across all industries
- Rolling out various projects and incubators nationally as per the contract and client’s needs
- Mentoring of various SMEs's in achieving their holistic growth with a clear company focus on profitability and sustainability
- Screening and selection of potential beneficiaries for any of the ESD programmes 
- Working with procurement departments to analyse gaps in their procurement
- Assisting senior managers in formulating BEE strategies for their company
- Training internal staff on the new 2013 BBBEE codes
- Writing and compiling RFP's, tenders etc.
￼￼￼￼
Account Management
- Building long term relationships with clients to ensure delivery as per SLA’s. Some of the clients include VISA, Bidvest Bank, Telesure, South African Tourism
- Presenting and reporting monthly to the client on a regular basis with clear objectives and outcomes as per the contract requirements, as well as measuring the effectiveness of the programmes
- In conjunction with the client, assisting with various workshops and marketing drives nationally

LEAP - Lean Enterprise Acceleration Programmes

Product Development Manager

As Managing Director, Michal was responsible for the complete business
management of the country from setting the strategy, to creating the
budgets and targets, total resource management for all expenses and
promotions, CRM, Contract Negotiations, HR, IR, Financial Management
and reporting, as well as talent development. Some other functions
included:

- Responsible for the overall strategy of the business
- Product Research and Development
- Building business models based on scalability and profitability
- Ensuring growth in the local market, as well as unlocking
opportunities on the African continent and Europe
- Establishing the company as a pioneer in the FMCG space
- Ensuring the company meets all yearly budgets, targets and
objectives
- Reporting to the Board of Directors and shareholders
- Building relationships across the various industries

Classic Food

Biscotti Baron (Managing Director & Founder)

Michal was the Head of Selection of all entrepreneurs that would apply for
the business support programmes offered. He built a team that would
look for traits and characteristics that helped identify potential future
successful entrepreneurs. The division supported a number of business
centres across South Africa, including some countries in Africa.
Some other functions included:

- Running various projects from inception to completion
- Personally screening and interviewing over 2 000 entrepreneurs
across all sectors and industries
- Reporting directly to the CEO and preparing a wide variety of
reports
- Building relationships with various stakeholders
- Responsible for building and applying new systems and processes
- Working with and understanding the various elements of the BEE
Scorecard
- Supporting all branches to meet targets and deadlines
- Creating and implementing Key Performance Management
- Working closely with the Marketing Division and providing feedback
on campaigns
- Speaker and Presenter: "Why small businesses fail?" (MTN and
Destiny Magazine, Khaya FM, Algoa FM)
- Part of a dynamic sales team

Raizcorp

Entrepreneurial Scout

This posts primary role was in the education field. Michal was responsible for
teaching Mathematics and Computers across all grades in the preparatory school.
Some other functions included:

- Compilation of ISASA Shared Assessment (Mathematics)
- Mathematics Curriculum Development
- Freelance Journalist (IT and Maths related)
- Computer Teacher (Grade 1 -7)
- Mathematics Teacher (Grade 6 - 7)
- Assistant IT Administrator
- Technical Administrator (Auditorium)
- U/11A Cricket Coach
- U/13A Soccer Coach
- U/13 Athletics Coach

Michal Szymanski