Leaving Home, Finding New Direction
Thulani has always been drawn to numbers. After a government science programme introduced him to careers in math, he chose to study actuarial and financial mathematics. He moved from Limpopo to Pretoria for university, taking on a demanding degree programme with no nearby family and little prior exposure to the academic and social demands of campus life. The transition wasn’t easy, but Thulani stayed focused on what he came to do.
Joining the Dell Young Leaders programme gave him more than just support — it reshaped how he saw himself. Through leadership training, career prep, and real-world exposure to finance roles, he began to build confidence and direction. A pivotal moment came during a three-day job shadow with a Dell Young Leaders alum in asset management. “That’s when I saw what was possible,” he says. “It shifted my mindset completely.”
Shaping a Career in Finance
After graduation, Thulani secured an internship at a major South African retailer with support from the Dell Young Leaders programme. The role in corporate finance introduced him to real-world analytics, working closely with CFOs and data teams. It didn’t take long for him to realise that his skill set – numbers, logic, and structured thinking – was a perfect fit for the fast-paced finance world.
That first experience led to a role as a business intelligence analyst, and eventually to his current position as a business intelligence manager at one of South Africa’s largest banks. Along the way, he found a passion for data strategy and is now preparing to pursue a postgraduate diploma in data science. “This is where I want to grow,” he says. “The more I learn, the more I see how data drives decision-making, and how I can lead in that space.”
