HONOURARY DOCTORATE AWARDED TO THEBE IKALAFENG ON REBUILDING AFRICA AND LEAVING A LEGACY
THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG (UJ) RECENTLY CONFERRED AN HONORARY DOCTORATE ON THE KIMBERLEY BORN, IKALAFENG, THE FOUNDER OF BRAND AFRICA AND BRAND LEADERSHIP GROUP IN THEIR MARCH GRADUATIONS.
Thebe Ikalafeng and Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi at the Graduation ceremony where Mr Ikalafeng was conferred his Honorary Doctorate
Not many people can claim to have travelled to all countries in Africa. And one of the very few is none other than revered global African authority in branding, Thebe Ikalafeng. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) recently conferred an honorary doctorate on the Kimberley born, Ikalafeng, the founder of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership Group in their March graduations. With a career spanning over 30 years, Ikalafeng is widely recognized as the most consequential and inspirational post-apartheid pan-African marketer. His leadership in brand and marketing communications has garnered numerous accolades and awards, and he has been recognized as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Africans’ by New African Magazine, one of the ‘100 Most Reputable Africans’ by Reputation Poll International, and the ‘100 Most Creative People of African Descent’ by the United Nations and Most Creative People of African Descent (MIPAD), and received Lifetime Achievement awards by the Financial Mail AdFocus and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa for his contributions to
branding and communications across Africa. Ikalafeng has been a prominent voice in thought leadership within the industry, solidifying his reputation as a purpose- driven authority on cultivating sustainable brands in Africa. He has travelled to 120 countries, including every continent and every African country, and to the South Pole in Antarctica and the North Pole in Greenland. “I’ve been to the highest point of the continent, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and the lowest point of the continent - Lake Assal in Djibouti, and the furthest North, Cape Angela in northern Tunisia, and farthest South, Cape Agulhas, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. There are three things which inspired my journeys across the continent. Typically, when I was in corporate, where I travelled extensively, I visited the places many people expect to be visited such as London, Paris, Washington, and Amsterdam, because that’s where we convened for most meetings. I would simply fly in and out on these business trips. I realised when I left corporate in 2002 that I had only
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