Details about the operational Ungana-Afrika team with tens of years of relevant experience. See also the board details.

Rudi von Staden (Executive Director, Co-Founder)

Rudi was part of the initial team that established Ungana-Afrika. He has pioneered some of the organisation's core services and methodologies, including Strategic Technology Planning and the Feasibility Framework. He has been responsible for a number of projects related to concept development, planning, rural support and capacity building. He has implemented numerous successful consulting projects on behalf of Ungana-Afrika, for clients ranging from the Department of Science and Technology, the Meraka Institute of the CSIR, to the Finnish Government. As Executive Director, Rudi is responsible for the overall performance of Ungana-Afrika, including strategy and business development, program and service delivery, global partnerships, financial management, and sales and fundraising efforts of the organisation.

Rudi graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Soon afterwards he joined Ungana-Afrika because it was well aligned with his values, and because it gave him an opportunity to use and develop his skills in innovative ways to support the under-served.

Tshepo Thlaku (Program Manager)

Tshepo Thlaku joined Ungana-Afrika in 2003, since then has successfully managed a number of projects that include the technology assessment of health organisations in Mamelodi Township and the ICT capacity building of Community Radio Stations in Mpumalanga. He has also provided training and facilitated workshops in about 6 countries in the SADC region. He is currently leading a Southern African incubation programme that helps organisations in the region implement sustainable ICT projects.

Before joining Ungana-Afrika Tshepo Thlaku was a project consultant with ADCOME in Cameroon implementing ICT development programmes focused on rural Schools and worked at Johnnic Entertainment as an Analyst Programmer. As a passionate advocate for youth he served in community organisations Moretele District Football Association and AIESEC (an international student leadership and exchange program) and he is currently an active leader in Junior Chamber International, which is a worldwide federation of youth leaders and entrepreneurs. Tshepo Thlaku has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Information Technology specialising in Software Development.

Gino De Canha (Finance and Operations Officer)

Gino joined Ungana-Afrika in 2008 as a Financial and Operations officer, with his key responsibilities being the financial management as well as handling the administrative tasks of the organisation. Currently, in addition to his core tasks, Gino has been in charge of the upgrade of Ungana-Afrika's financial system and improving the financial processes and reports of the organisation. He is also utilising his skills in the as a part of our projects by designing and analysing financial models and estimates, providing training and improving some of Ungana-Afrika's materials.

Gino holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial and Financial Mathematics obtained from the University of Pretoria in 2007 and he then joined Ungana-Afrika so that he could apply his skills in helping Ungana attain their goals of financial security and stability, as well as gaining valuable experience from the organisational processes and how to operate an enterprise efficiently. Away from work, Gino is an avid poker and football player and enjoys watching movies.

Marjolein van Gendt (Project Manager)

Marjolein arrived in South Africa March 2010 with the aim of reinforcing the Ungana-Afrika team. Currently her work aims to incorporate participatory needs assessment in ICT entrepreneurship development in poor communities. She holds a M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and a M.A. in International Business and Development Studies from Sophia University in Tokyo. Her background in ICT for Development includes a research focus for her second Master's, a consultancy at UN APCICT in South Korea, and volunteer positions at several NGOs. Her strength lies in her passion for equality among all people, combined with the understanding that deprivation of ICT connectivity and services seriously limits people in their economic opportunities. The Dutch NGO Hivos facilitated that she could join Ungana-Afrika through PSO's Youth Zone programme.

Associate

The following person maintains an associate link to Ungana-Afrika

Ryan Jacobs (Co-Founder, Former Project Manager)

As a co-founder Ryan was with Ungana-Afrika from the very beginning, and worked with the team in Southern Africa until 2006. During his 4 years at Ungana, Ryan was involved in a variety of capacities, most notably as a project manager (of several capacity building programs that now serve as models for growing support efforts) and trainer. Since 2006 he has kept strong ties to Ungana-Afrika both personally and professionally, and continues to work closely with the organisation as an associate.

Before entering the development community within Africa, Ryan was studying and working for many years in the technical and engineering sectors of the United States. By transitioning to Civil Society in 2002, Ryan's objective is to apply his technical background and management experience within a more socially-motivated context.

Ryan is currently working as a private consultant. You can read more about Ryan, and contact him, at his personal website, www.ryanjacobs.name