Junior Achievement South Africa is proud to announce the appointment of Nelo Spies as the new Executive Director. After an intensive recruitment drive, Nelo takes the reins to lead one of South Africa’s leading Youth Development organisations, geared to inspiring youth through work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
Her passion in development focuses on entrepreneurship and small & medium business development. She has been instrumental in catalyzing financial inclusion for indigenous owned businesses. Through her work, she has successfully unlocked credit facilities of qualifying businesses and has successfully inspired financial institutions to extend credit to sectors and individual borrowers who were unbanked and underbanked with a focus on promoting sustainable and equitable development.
Her work experience spans across the Southern Africa region including Swaziland, Zambia, and Mozambique. Having served on multiple boards internationally and locally in the private sector, government agencies and not for profit organisations, she is well versed in taking JA SA to the next level.
“The appointment of Nelo, who has a strong track record of execution, adds to our confidence on delivery of our strategy to impact the youth in South Africa”, says Junior Achievement Chairperson, Zodwa Pakade.
“My thanks go to Nelly Mofokeng – former Managing Director of JASA – for her valuable contribution to Junior Achievement South Africa over the years and I wish her well in her new journey. On behalf of the Board, I welcome Nelo to the Junior Achievement family and look forward to working with her, as we continue to execute on our 2025 strategy” , Pakade says.
Nelo is a registered Professional Accountant (SAIPA) with extensive experience in development finance and SME advisory and holds a Master’s in Business Leadership as well and B Com degree.
About Junior Achievement South Africa:
Junior Achievement (JA) South Africa is a dedicated non-profit organisation committed to inspire and prepare the South African youth in a dynamic global economy. Our mission is to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the demands of the modern workforce, focusing on practical skills for the future world of work, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.
