Phiwa Nkambule

Phiwa Nkambule
Born Sicelo Phiwayinkosi Nkambule
(1992-01-24) January 24, 1992
Manzini
Education
Occupation
  • Technology entrepreneur
  • Co-founder & CEO of Riovic
  • Founder of Cybatar
Years active 2013–present
Known for

Phiwa Nkambule (born January 24, 1992) is a South African internet entrepreneur best known for co-founding and leading Riovic as its chief executive officer and founding Cybatar.[1]

Early life

Phiwa Nkambule was born in Manzini where he also spent his childhood.[2][3] In 2006, as a 14-year-old, he began fixing and building computers with his uncle in a small township in Swaziland.[1] Nkambule moved to South Africa in 2007 for academic purposes.[4] Phiwa was a law student at the University of Pretoria before quitting to start his first technology company Cybatar from his garage in 2014.[5] It was at the university where he taught himself web and app development.[1]

Entrepreneurship

Before leaving the University of Pretoria Phiwa attempted to work with the Swaziland National Library and the Manzini Regional Education Office in 2013 but was rejected.[6] After dropping out of university in 2014 Nkambule founded Cybatar, a technology company focused on fuel delivery from his garage in Pretoria, South Africa.[1][7][8]

In 2015 Nkambule co-founded Riovic, an insurance technology company.[1][3][2][4][6][5] The company owns and operates online platforms that connect consumers with insurance, credit and investments.[9] He was invited to deliver a keynote address on Digital Technologies in Insurance at the 13th International Microinsurance Conference in Peru, South America in November 2017.[2][3][10][9][11]

Philanthropy

On 24 October 2015 he released the first tuition crowdfunding platform in South Africa in the wake of the FeesMustFall protests that saw the country's tertiary institutions shutdown to help save students from tuition debt.[12][13][14] He also launched a free online learning platform for digital skills aimed at reducing youth unemployment rate in South Africa.[15][16][17]

Awards and recognition

In June 2018, Phiwa Nkambule was named in the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list of most promising entrepreneurs in the technology category.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Under 30 Technology - Forbes Africa". 4 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eswatini Born Entrepreneur Develops FinTech Platform". 3 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "First Liswati Makes it to Forbes List". new.observer.org.sz.
  4. 1 2 "Swazi Born Entrepreneur Making Waves in SA Insurance Industry". 9 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Why this 25 Year Old Fintech Entrepreneur Thinks Your Peers are Your Biggest Investments". 18 May 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Forbes listed Liswati rejected by his own country". 6 June 2018.
  7. Gilbert, ITWeb, Paula (13 May 2016). "SA start-up uses crowdfunding for insurance".
  8. "Swaziland-born entrepreneur introduces crowdfunded insurance". 1 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Riovic Corporation: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
  10. "Munich Re Foundation - Contact". www.munichre-foundation.org.
  11. "What does the Fourth Industrial Revolution hold for Insurance? - Access to Insurance". a2ii.org.
  12. "Crowdfunding site launched to help 500 SA students cover tuition fees by end of 2015 - htxt.africa". 28 October 2015.
  13. https://www.itweb.co.za/content/ALPwQ57lWbDvNgkj
  14. "Crowdfunding platform EduFund seeks to save SA students from tuition debt – Ventureburn". 26 October 2015.
  15. "Free online academic institution launched". www.bizcommunity.com.
  16. Writer, Staff (7 August 2017). "Today's Top Entrepreneurship and Business Stories (7 August)".
  17. "FREE ONLINE ACADEMIC INSTITUTION LAUNCHED - Social TV". social-tv.co.za.



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.