Shakes Motsilili

TEDx Speaker Shakes Motsilili has come from humble beginnings to become the first Black person in South African history to come in the top ten in the Science Olympiad, representing South Africa in London in 1993. He then went on to become the first Black person to pass the University of Pretoria Actuarial Examinations and was promoted to become the head of the Actuarial Department at Momentum Life at the age of 34. Shakes specialized on investment innovation catering to the needs of some of South Africa's most sophisticated high net wealth clients. In 2011 he co-founded Africa New Energies with Stephen Larkin, his former university flatmate. Shakes has since spearheaded the forming of the first BEE Venture Capital Company and with Stephen Larkin has lobbied for S12J, the South African tax deductions that the Aziza Coin digital currency will be using.

Earlier last year, the co-founders rejected a bid that valued Africa New Energies at R6.7 billion due to ethical and environmental concerns. They have specifically developed this new digital currency to fund their and many other African entrepreneurial businesses in a way that keeps promises to local communities and manages investor risk against capital losses. This allows a crowd of smaller investors to access high potential early-stage companies that would normally only be available to the very wealthiest members of our society.