Answers Part 1 submitted by

mark Simon Uncategorised 18 July 2026 Hits: 453

Fezile Nqiwa

I consider the future of the business when making decisions	Consistently
I have ideas for improving the business or our solutions	Consistently
I respectfully question how we do things to make improvements	Consistently
I speak to colleagues to obtain their expertise and perspectives	Consistently
I use my initiative and am not afraid to get involved in solving issues	Consistently
I am a pioneer and encourage others to find new and better ways of working	Consistently
I invite people with different views to co-develop solutions to problems	Consistently
I recognise and reward creativity	Consistently
I work with others to turn my best ideas into reality	Consistently
I look for ways to use technology to improve the business	Consistently

Please provide examples of how you have shown vision and the ability to innovate in your career (Approx 100-300 words)
I have demonstrated vision and innovation by identifying structural gaps in existing systems and designing scalable solutions to address them. As Head of the Personal Shopper Programme at Takealot, I recognised that traditional e-commerce models were not effectively reaching many low-income and underserved communities due to trust, access, and digital barriers. I helped shape a community-based commerce model that enables local entrepreneurs to act as trusted intermediaries, generating income while extending Takealot’s reach into new and underserved markets. Beyond operational scale, I drove innovation by developing new performance metrics, incentive structures, and operating models better suited to informal and semi-formal traders, rather than relying on standard e-commerce KPIs. I also led the conceptualisation and product vision for a digital enablement platform for Personal Shoppers, designed to move the programme from WhatsApp-led interactions to an insight-driven model with integrated communication, customer management, and performance analytics. In parallel, I developed public-private partnership proposals that align commercial growth with inclusive economic development, demonstrating how innovation can create both business and societal value.

About Rising Star

The Rising Star Programme, operated by BlackBark Productions, has been established for the purposes of recognising, celebrating and connecting young talented people who have a capacity for achievement and success and who contribute in an inspirational manner to the future of our nation. The qualities that elevate Rising Stars to the top go beyond performance and technical excellence. Rising Stars are polished, brilliant individuals with tremendous promise and great talent who excel for reasons that go far beyond their technical abilities alone.

Talented people make things happen, are highly committed to achieving goals, innovate very rapidly, and create a great deal of value (for companies and/or themselves) when their talent is spotted and harnessed.

The Programme aims to be a significant and sustainable vehicle through which organisations, our country and our continent can identify and nurture these “organisational and national assets” who are set to play a key role in shaping the future of our country and our continent.

The Rising Star Programme is establishing a living community of young African talent that will be developed, mentored and provided with platforms for development and communication, therefore enabling them to become role models, opinion leaders and the inspiration for other future African Talent.