Rilise Makhadi

Rilise Makhadi
Employer: Nedbank Head Office

Born and bred in the dusty streets of rural Venda, Rilise Makhadi always wanted to discover what the world out there had to offer. He always longed to know what he could do to make a difference and change the world.

Rilise says his life has not been any different from that of a normal youth in present-day South Africa. The last of three children raised by loving parents and surrounded by supportive friends and family, he says that as a child he was always fascinated by the bigger picture.

‘‘I was forever trying to understand how things come into being, a curiosity that sent me into the field of business management’’, he says. ‘’I was also influenced by my dad, who ran various business ventures when I was growing up. His entrepreneurial spirit instilled a similar passion in me. After matric I studied business management at Rosebank College, which opened my eyes to what the world was really about.’’

This led Rilise to an opportunity to join the initiative known as the Nedbank YES programme, which he describes as an eye-opening experience as it was his very first exposure to the working world. ‘’It’s an opportunity I will forever be grateful for’’, he adds.

Through the YES programme, Rilise has discovered much about the banking industry, while meeting and learning from a lot of different people. YES has shown him the “bigger picture” he always wanted to see from a young age. Rilise concludes, ‘’The programme has also enabled me to groom and enhance my self-confidence and interpersonal skills. I’m very happy to say I’ve grown through the YES programme and with the knowledge I now have, am definitely going to take on the world with both hands and be part of a significant change in our country!’’