Vuyolwethu Dubese
Founder, InnovTel
Currently based in South Africa and Kenya, Vuyolwethu Dubese is an Innovation and M&E Consultant, Corporate Moderator, Host of the ESG for SMEs Podcast and (Angel) Investor impassioned about the creation and execution of a new renaissance of impact-driven business and equitable economic empowerment.
At present, she is the Founder of InnovTel, an impact design studio specialising in Impact Design, Advisory and Reporting. InnovTel's strategic goal is to scale and accelerate impact with a particular interest in impact investing, sustainability, and startups across emerging markets. The company has worked with large cross-sector clients such as MasterCard Foundation (Africa), ShEquity (Switzerland), MBC Africa (Ghana) and UCT Graduate School of Business (South Africa) to mention a few. InnovTel has advised and published impact reports in high impact sectors such as agriculture, green economy, impact investing and social enterprise development. Prior to this, Dubese was an Associate in Impact Acceleration at Impact Amplifier and Startup Partnerships Lead for Africa at Thomson Reuters Labs with a focus on leveraging (open) data and platforms of Thomson Reuters Innovation Labs to startups across the continent and facilitating innovation strategy consulting for C- suite.
The innovator, using her expertise in innovation strategy and impact design across SMEs to multinationals, is also a brand partner who has worked with global organisations including Sage, Samsung, Standard Bank, Momentum and ABSA to mention a few across high-level campaigns with a key focus on small business development and leadership.
Her 7+ years of expertise and capabilities extend to working with institutional organisations including the World Bank Group, UNDP Africa and Accenture, Mastercard Foundation and Thomson Reuters. In 2020, Dubese gave her inaugural lecture on impact innovation at the University of South Africa (UNISA), Africa's leading ODL university. She has spoken on several stages, including She Leads Africa, Lufthansa Impact Week, Facebook (now Meta), and Africa Angel Investor Summit to mention but a few.
As a well-versed moderator, former SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) TV presenter and radio presenter, she has engaged multiple high-level discussions among C-Suite executives and innovators in various regions across social impact, business, and technology.