Sylvester Sedibane ALU Fund

I am Sylvester ‘Silva’ Sedibane. A young purpose-driven professional active in multiple professional spaces. I am a passionate servant-leader, a solution-orientated youngster, and a pan-Africanist, committed to helping transform African communities and shape the future of young people.

I was raised by my maternal grandparents until the age of 7, and my paternal grandparents until the age of 13, in the Limpopo villages of South Africa. Being under-resourced and growing up under impoverished circumstances, I didn’t have room for dreaming. I never imagined what life could look like outside poverty. It was until the 11^th grade that I had my first dream, the first vision of what my future could look like. From that day, I knew exactly who I wanted to be, and I never backed down. In June 2018, I volunteered at an educational non-profit, The Mamelodi Initiative, and that’s when the servant-leader in me was first unleashed. It was at that time I knew that my purpose is to change lives and nurture people.

Since then, I committed my life to creating sustainable change in people’s lives and nurturing characters, by leading life-changing missions and being the help I never had nor knew growing up. The dream from the 11^th grade? It was to be a successful businessman and a philanthropist. At age 20 I started my first business, while studying entrepreneurship at Tshwane University of Technology and still working at The Mamelodi Initiative; and then started being in pursuit of growth and development opportunities to nurture the leader and entrepreneur in me. I volunteered and served at The Mamelodi Initiative for 3 years, in different positions ranging from a Tutor to a Programme Coordinator. I founded Edulight Academia (an educational non-profit), co-founded Gap Connect (a skills development non-profit), and took part in numerous community development programmes and initiatives, including Eskom Expo and Investec’s Young Professionals Revolution.

So far, I started and tried a total of 4 businesses. My entrepreneurial dream is to build a large business portfolio under the holding company, Silva Solutions Holdings. I want to build a community of businesses and invest in emerging innovative business ventures that will transform Africa’s state of the economy. Furthermore, I want to serve in leadership positions within the business and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through education and educational institutions, I want to make quality education and knowledge fashionable and easily accessible to all young people.

To achieve all of that and more, I’ll need to be well equipped and possess the right knowledge and skills. Hence, I consider myself a lifelong learner and extremely committed to constantly develop my skills and grow professionally. I hold a National Diploma in Entrepreneurship from the Tshwane University of Technology and have completed over 20 short courses in areas of business and entrepreneurship, leadership, and education. In 2021 I got an opportunity to be trained at the Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Centre Southern Africa (YALI RLC-SA). And recently I got accepted at one of Africa’s most prestigious education institutions, the African Leadership University (ALU) in Rwanda, to study BSc (Hons) in Entrepreneurial Leadership from September 2022. 

Studying at ALU will be a dream come true for me and will make the dream of transforming Africa and its state of economy possible for me. Unfortunately, I don’t have the financial means and capacity to enroll. I could not get the ALU Scholarship, but instead I got awarded the Community Leadership Grant, a $2000 tuition waiver that is applied yearly to ALU’s $3000 tuition fee for the duration of my study. Although this grant relieves me of the financial commitment I’ll be faced with, it does not do so entirely. I’ll still need more financial and in-kind resources to be able to enroll and complete my studies. Because this is a lifetime opportunity, that I cannot afford to miss, I’m working round the clock to secure the funds I need. And that’s why I am reaching out to you, to assist me in any way you can.

Your contribution will go a long way in helping a young African leader realize his dream of being the change he wants to see.