Siphelele Ntaka

Growing up, I have always believed that if you cannot even pretend to bend a knee to your rivals, it does not matter what you do in future to get ahead of them, they will see you coming a mile away. I believe so much in the power of stepping back, reprioritising and reorganising. 

I am from Ezingolweni (Kwa Dumezulu, a small rural community located in the south of Port Shepstone).  I am from a community that did not have schools, I had to walk about 3 hours to get to school from grade 1 to 12. In grade 10, I took math and science classes because I always believed that numbers could tell a much better story than words. Unfortunately, we did not have a mathematics teacher and we had to teach our selves till grade 12. 

I found myself teaching mathematics and some physics This helped me develop the power of self-study from an early age, which I believe helped my academic performance at the university.  After grade 12 I enrolled in at the university of KwaZulu-Natal for my bachelor’s degree. I triple majored in Economics, Finance, and supply chain management. I went further to complete the Honours and master’s degrees in Finance. I am currently saving to pursue the CFA level 1 board exam. I studied finance, because of my love for investment banking and asset management. Being a CFA charter holder will enable me to have skills that will make me competent in the fast-paced environment of banking. 

At University I was the secretary of the Finance Society, which aimed to bridge the gap between academics and the corporate world. We invited different companies (RMB, Standard Bank, Mr Price group, FirstRand group, ASISA, PPS, Toyota etc) so that they can share with students as to what is expected from them and how to manage the transition from theoretical to practical side of the world.  I was also part of the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) that aimed to address the apparent lack of representation of black professionals in the securities and investment industry. It was a platform to address the aspirations of those in the industry and to create a forum for black professionals to exchange Information and Ideas. 

At honours level I was appointed to be the treasurer of the UKZN aerobics club. My role was to make quotations for competition fees, transportation costs and do reimbursement when the club had used its own money.  I went further to do bookings for transport for different clubs at the university and in this I grew to love logistics. It was at Superga Cricks Clothing group where I learned that, it takes one van/car to start a logistics company. I learned that it is not about big trucks, but a matter of finding a small niche businesses to do transportation for and make oneself reliable and build trustworthy relationships. 

After University I received rejections in job applications  and I was told that it was because of lack of experience or my salary expectations could not be met. I then removed my qualifications on my CV because they were blocking me from entering the work force. I got a temporally job at Cricks clothing group as a sales assistant in retail.  After a year, I then sow a post for graduate programme at Dr Selva’s offices at Margate Netcare hospital, and that is how I became the fellow of the IESHER organisation. He offered me a platform to create solutions that nurture and deliver public value. 

What inspires me to be part of IESHER is how the platform is laid out, how the organisation has set the ground rules and allow fellows to find their place of interest within the platform. The organisation has also offers the room to share skills with each other as fellows. This will make us more competent in a fast paced environment and as a result we get experiences in different fields. IESHER will help me build my character, competence and confidence in the corporate world. It will also help me explore my passion for logistics as I will learn about supply chain, fleet management and how to navigate through the website. It will also give me skills to produce and analyse financial statements through sage pastel in one of our enterprise (Phila Pharmacy). 

My goal for IESHER is to help in all its enterprises to create financially sound business, by employing my valuation and financial modelling skills within the organisation. I further want to create financial statements using IFRS standards so they can be easily understood worldwide as they promote common language to accountants. I also want to help in inventory management, by implementing systems that will notify the pharmacy as to when to order, what to order and keep track of all stock going in and going out.