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Sage intern who takes it all in his stride Denver has courageously agreed to share his deeply personal story in the hope that it will inspire others to dream the impossible and encourage more companies to sign up as sponsors or host companies for interns, or both. Denver’s story really is an example of the magic that can happen when a big company is prepared to look past the many reasons not to give someone a chance. |
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Second choice is sometimes the best Not being accepted by her university of choice and then having her first sponsor withdraw their internship offer were bitter pills to swallow at the time, but also led to Nada Nyakaza ending up exactly where she was meant to be. She now holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Finance from TSiBA, a Cape Town-based not-for-profit higher education institution, and she started her graduate internship at Coronation Fund Managers in January 2024. And she couldn’t be happier. |
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Using any opportunity as a stepping stone Where others see hurdles and adversity, Mikano Ndodzo Masithi from Limpopo sees stepping stones placed in her path to help her get to where she wants to be. This life hack catapulted her from Thohoyandou, a small town in Limpopo, to a career as an analyst in the global markets team at Standard Bank. Masithi’s most recent stepping stone came in the form of the Fezeka Graduate Programme, delivered by the ASISA Academy in partnership with business consultancy Joint Prosperity. |
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It all started when she was a teenager working in Granddad's pub Starting her job as an analyst in the Standard Bank Global Markets team in Johannesburg after graduating from the ASISA Academy’s Fezeka Graduate Programme in May 2024, Regomoditswe Moremedi feels light years away from the teenager serving food and drinks in her grandfather’s pub during school holidays. But that was where it all began when she often caught herself thinking, “If only my customers knew about compound interest.” |
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From intern to 'brilliant' Paraplanner to Financial Advisor Jerry Uzoegbo was about to abandon his long-held dream of working in financial education when he heard about the ASISA Academy Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) Internship, which provided the pathway to his role today as a financial planner at Gradidge Mahura Investments. “We aren't taught about this stuff in school. I only started to learn about personal finances – proper budgeting and taxes and all that – when I got to varsity,” he says. |
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An internship that changed everything Cliff Mathikhi, a paraplanner at Wealth Associates in Bloemfontein, seemed destined for a career in numbers until he was introduced to the ASISA Academy Independent Financial (IFA) Advisor Internship, and everything changed. Very much a “people’s person”, adaptability was already second nature to Johannesburg-raised Mathikhi, whose family hails from Venda. “I grew up in Soweto; I went to school in Johannesburg,” he says. “Being there exposes you to so much culture … you have to adapt, or you won’t enjoy yourself.” In fact, of South Africa’s 12 official languages, there are only three that Mathikhi is not fluent in: isiNdebele, siSwati and Sign Language. |
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Smashing that imposter syndrome Even before Lerato Nonyane, Co-Head of Operations at RisCura, was nominated to join the ASISA Academy’s Financial Markets Practitioner (FMP) Learnership in February 2022, she already had a CV that would make even the most accomplished among us look like they had been slacking. |
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Even the boldest benefit from a helping hand As a teenager, Itumeleng Motlhale travelled alone to the University of the Free State (UFS) with nothing but his matric certificate and a plan to register for a course (any course). Now Internal Compliance Liaison Officer at Refuge Financial Services (and a graduate of UFS as well as the ASISA Academy Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) Internship), Itumeleng is quick to point out all the help he has received since then.
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Changing the world one financial plan at a time One well-trodden path for alumni of the ASISA Academy is from intern to a stellar career as a full-time staff member at their sponsor company. Another choice is to forge their own path and grow the industry in their own way. Thandekile Moloko, a Financial Service Provider trading as SimWealth, chose the latter, less well-trodden path. |
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Hlanganisa Mati served in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) before he was guided into his current role in compliance at Citadel Investment Services through the ASISA Academy’s IMACS@TSIBA Internship. His heart remains in serving his countrymen and women.
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Cecilia Nkwali, Chief Executive Officer at Kuzingca Business Protection Services, is a living testament to what can be achieved when you seize every opportunity, which she has been doing since the early days of her working life as a tea lady at Momentum Investment Management. |
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