(July 5, 2023) – Imagine Worldwide, a leading education technology nonprofit that supports children in Sub-Saharan Africa to develop literacy and numeracy skills, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Rapelang Rabana as its new Co-CEO. With her exceptional leadership skills, deep industry expertise, and visionary mindset, Rabana is set to accelerate Imagine Worldwide’s growth across Sub-Saharan Africa (currently in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Tanzania) and elevate foundational learning for millions of children.
“We are delighted to welcome Rapelang Rabana as our new Co-CEO,” said Joe Wolf, Co-Founder and current CEO of Imagine Worldwide. “Her work with us over the past several years as a board member, Board Chair, and most recently as Head of Technology, has highlighted the value she brings to our organization. Her remarkable accomplishments, passion for improving the lives of the most marginalized children, and strong leadership skills make her the perfect addition to our executive team.”
As Co-CEO, Rabana will work closely with the existing executive team to drive strategic initiatives, enhance operational efficiency, and expand the company’s presence across Africa. “By appointing Rapelang as Co-CEO, Imagine Worldwide is moving forward with its commitment to deepen its organizational leadership in Africa,” explained Imagine Worldwide’s Board Chair Kanini Mutooni, Managing Director at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. “We have a majority African team and board of directors, as well as a Malawi-based NGO, whose work is informed by and committed to the communities we serve. There is also strong alignment between Joe and Rapelang as leaders, with complementary skills, backgrounds, and a deep trust in each other that will make this a powerful partnership for advancing our mission.”
“I am truly honored and excited to join Imagine Worldwide as Co-CEO,” said Rapelang. “Education and skills development on the continent remain challenges I want to spend my life working on.”
Rapelang brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She is Founder of Rekindle Learning, a dynamic learning tech company that enables organizations to easily codify and share institutional know-how amongst their teams to drive business performance. She is also a Partner at FFWD Innovation, a digital advisory firm. Rapelang has over 15 years of experience building tech, including her first startup right after University and becoming the Chief Digital Officer at BCX, one of South Africa’s largest IT companies. Rapelang has served as a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Entrepreneurship, as a trustee of the Standard Chartered Bank Botswana Education Trust, and as a board member for African Leadership University. She was featured on the cover of Forbes Africa magazine, named Entrepreneur for the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum 2017.
Rabana’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Imagine Worldwide as the nonprofit is expanding the tablet-based foundational literacy/numeracy program across Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the government of Malawi recently committed to implementing the program in all primary schools — projected to serve 3.5mm students annually at full scale. Additional large-scale expansions are planned across West Africa and elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa.