Bio

PROFILE Corporate Innovation | Entrepreneurship | Impact Investment | Sustainable Development VISION As a Corporate Partnerships & Innovation Manager with a demonstrated track record of successfully driving business growth and establishing strategic partnerships with leading corporates, Bakang’s vision is to continue creating innovative solutions that leverage private and public capital for social impact. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bakang is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in corporate partnerships, innovation, and project management. Her impressive track record in building successful partnerships that facilitate corporate and start-up collaboration through innovation advisory, startup acceleration programs, and early-stage tech investments has earned her a reputation as a highly effective leader in the industry. As the Corporate Partnerships & Innovation Manager for Plug and Play South Africa in Johannesburg, Bakang is responsible for leading the establishment and growth of Plug and Play operations in South Africa and expanding across Africa. In this strategic role, she focuses on building partnerships that catalyse corporate and start-up collaboration, managing the in-country initiatives, leading the team members, managing office P&L, recruiting, as well as growing the company's brand in the sub-Saharan Africa market. Bakang's initiatives are executed on behalf of large local and global corporates, including Sanlam, BASF, Sasol, Total Energies, Habitat for Humanity, and others. Prior to joining Plug and Play, Bakang worked as a Programme Manager at Edge Growth, Johannesburg, where she managed a R45 million portfolio of high-complexity Enterprise & Supplier Development (ESD) programmes designed to deliver catalytic business growth support to over 60 black-owned Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) every year. Bakang also worked as an Impact Investing Project Manager at the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Cape Town. Here, she managed and contributed to collaborative projects with organisations in the international development finance sector, in addition to corporates and philanthropic foundations. Her professional qualifications and various board and leadership roles demonstrate her commitment to lifelong learning and community development. As a natural leader, Bakang's combination of strategic thinking, operational excellence, and relationship building make her an invaluable asset to any team.