Building Africa, One Story at a Time: Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion in Action.
This session explores Financial Inclusion through Entrepreneurship (FITE) in greater depth. This session will bring together Absa subject matter experts, and an entrepreneurship programmes beneficiary to unpack how inclusive entrepreneurship can unlock sustainable livelihoods across underserved communities.
Speakers
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Sylvia Selorm Aku AdduOperational and Resilience Risk ManagerSylvia Selorm Aku Addu
Operational and Resilience Risk Manager
Sylvia Selorm Aku Addu is an Operational Risk Manager with extensive experience leading initiatives that enhance institutional resilience, internal controls, and risk culture, including the Operational Risk Illumine campaign and the launch of a centralized Local Policy Hub. Beyond her core role, Sylvia is passionate about social impact, youth development, and gender inclusion. She has spearheaded and supported several community initiatives, such as mobilizing the Business Banking and SME teams for a donation to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital NICU in December 2023, supporting the Absa Women’s Network Forum in aid of the Ark Foundation, and contributing to Force for Good projects like tree planting and beach clean-ups. Her dedication to youth empowerment was evident when she chaired the AIESEC Ghana National Youth Leadership Summit in May 2025, hosting over 150 young people from four West African countries. She also mentors colleagues formally and informally within Absa and volunteers with Little Big Souls Ghana, advocating for preterm babies in Africa. As Executive Secretary of the Absa Women’s Network Forum, Sylvia supports the EXCO in designing programs that promote female advancement. A former President of Zonta E-Club of West Africa and current member of the Zonta Club of Accra Jubilee, she continues to champion access to education and opportunities for women and girls. Previously, she worked in Corporate Relationship Management, where she built and managed key client relationships within the Business Banking Unit. Sylvia views leadership as a platform for shared growth and uses her voice to inspire ethical leadership, inclusive development, and social innovation. From mentoring young leaders to driving community change, she embodies Albert Einstein’s wisdom: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
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Kal NarothamGroup Head of Performance ManagementKal Narotham
Group Head of Performance Management
AbsaKalpana Narotham is the Group Head of Performance Management at Absa, where she leads the charge in transforming performance into a meaningful, growth-driven experience for colleagues across the continent. Since joining Absa in 2019, Kal has been instrumental in aligning performance with purpose—driving business results by enabling people to reach their full potential. With a foundation in Computer Science and Business Information Systems, Kal brings a rare and powerful blend of technical acumen, business insight, and human-centered leadership. Her 16-year career in Management Consulting saw her lead complex change initiatives across industries, helping organisations unlock the potential of their talent through innovative and sustainable solutions. Kal is deeply passionate about cultivating high-performance teams, embedding a Growth Mindset, and applying neuroscience to elevate workplace effectiveness. As a trained brain-based coach, she mentors emerging leaders, fostering development through coaching, curiosity, and insight. Outside of work, Kal is a proud mum to two daughters, aged 14 and 10, and finds fulfillment in meaningful conversations with her family, lifelong learning, and movement—whether it’s walking outdoors, yoga, or decluttering her space. Her love for learning is reflected in her bookshelf and podcast queue, with favourites like Change Your Questions, Change Your Life by Marilee Adams, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett. Kal’s unique ability to connect the dots between technology, talent, and transformation makes her a powerful force for change—both in business and in life.
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Zintle RaziyaManager: Colleague VolunteeringZintle Raziya
Manager: Colleague Volunteering
Absa Group LimitedZintle Raziya is a Mandela Washington Fellow, Crans Montana Young Leader alumni, and Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South African. She is also an alumna of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation’s Leading for Humanity. Passionate about youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, Zintle currently serves as Manager for Colleague Volunteering at Absa. In this pan-African role, she leads volunteering efforts focusing on skills based volunteering and social impact response across regions, directly contributing to the Group’s Corporate Citizenship Strategy of Financial Inclusion Through Entrepreneurship. As a development practitioner, her work focuses on designing and implementing social impact interventions, leveraging corporate resources for inclusive development, and embedding measurement and evaluation frameworks to ensure sustainable outcomes. She integrates colleague expertise into community projects, advancing financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and employability pathways that create scalable, long-term impact. Previously, she was a Business Development Associate at the presidentially endorsed Youth Employment Service (YES), where she played a key role as part of the founding team. Her earlier contributions also include supporting the National Solar Water Heating Programme, which enabled community artisans to install over 250,000 solar geysers in township communities across South Africa. Holding an Honours degree in Development Studies with a focus on Behavioural Change in the Green Economy and a Master’s in Inclusive Innovation, Zintle is a strong conceptual thinker, planner, and communicator. She has extensive experience leading social and economic impact projects, thrives in collaborative environments, and has consistently demonstrated success in advancing social development and community initiatives.
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Joseph KhozaExecutive DirectorJoseph Khoza
Executive Director
StritGRAD Market SolutionsJoseph Khoza is a South African entrepreneur, social innovator, and youth advocate dedicated to transforming township and rural economies. Raised in Soweto, he witnessed the barriers young people face in accessing work and resources, experiences that shaped his passion for creating inclusive opportunities. He began his career in the corporate sector, where he was recognized as a top performer in sales leadership and call-centre management. In 2015, he pioneered one of the first township-based home-workstation projects, introducing remote earning opportunities well before they became mainstream. Today, Joseph is the Executive Director of StritGRAD Market Solutions, a youth-owned hybrid marketing and consulting firm, and Founder of StritGRAD Academy NPC, its social impact arm. Through these platforms, he has developed initiatives such as the School Exit Program and Candidate Preparatory Initiative, which prepare young people for work and enterprise. He also leads projects like Young Mumz Space, supporting vulnerable young mothers, and township spaza formalisation programmes with partners including Spaza EATs, Harmony Gold, NEMISA, Mo-Afrika Itlhokomele, and the Young African Entrepreneurs Institute. His flagship projects—spanning future digital skills, financial literacy, township-rural entrepreneurship, and enterprise development—have empowered thousands of youth and informal traders to move from hustling to structured business. As a public speaker, Joseph continues to inspire young people to see themselves as innovators and contributors to economic change. At the One Young World Summit, he seeks to amplify rural and township entrepreneurship on the global stage, forge collaborations, and explore solutions that scale sustainable impact across Africa.