Alumnus Natalie Jabangwe named as 'Influential Leader 2020' by AACSB

Congratulations to Natalie Jabangwe (Executive MBA 2012) who has been recognised as an 'honoree' in the AACSB's 2020 Class of Influential Leaders.

Natalie was honoured for her contribution to the FinTech industry in Africa. She is one of the youngest CEOs of a FinTech business in Africa, after taking up the helm of EcoCash Zimbabwe in 2014.  Natalie has been recognised as a leader in the field of digital transformation and financial inclusion, working to change the way digital policy and innovation is shaping the economic transformation framework for the continent.  

Natalie has been instrumental in embodying the company’s ethos of improving the lives of local people. She has helped to build the economy from the bottom up, supporting those who were previously financially excluded due to the economic situation that hit Zimbabwe in the 1990s.

I feel both humbled and honoured to be recognised as an alma mater honoree of influencers from top global business schools. Imperial College London is renowned for outstanding research in science, invention and technology in academia and this institutional capability was evident in the MBA programme I studied at the Business School. I have undoubtedly benefited from implementing the learning I took from my time there in my career with great results.

Added to this, Natalie also champions and inspires the leaders of tomorrow in her many other roles: Ambassador in Zimbabwe for the international Women's Entrepreneurship Day appointed by the U.N; a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum in 2018 and her appointment to the U.N Secretary General’s first global Digital Financing taskforce.

Natalie is also an entrepreneur. She has co-founded an innovation hub, ibuhub, which ‘identifies and brings together Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs into a supportive ecosystem that grows technology and diverse innovation centric start-up ideas into commercially viable ventures’. The organisation holds talent identification programmes to support the growth of start-ups, and provides admin and business development support, as well as workspace and amenities. It also hosts community events, supports funding and runs a learning and resources centre. Her help is providing an excellent start to young entrepreneurs and the business leaders of the future.

The AACSB is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. It is a voluntary, non-governmental accrediting agency that oversees the standardization of collegiate schools of business and accounting nationwide.