Nyiko Mageza: Founding Treasurer – The Grind Foundation (2013 - current)

Nyiko Mageza - Treasury Manager at Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority

“What I am most proud of is that we have been able, in our very small way, to make a material difference in the lives of the people and projects we support.”

Q1: Tell us about where your life (and career) was circa 2013, before The Grind?

A1: I was Treasury Strategist at the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA).

Q2: How did the idea of registering a Foundation come about?

A2: The Grind was a chat for black financial markets guys and in between the inappropriate guy jokes and banter we would always express our frustrations about the slow pace of transformation and the state of education and opportunities for disadvantaged black kids and one day we said “well let’s try and do something about it.”

Q3: Was it an easy sell to the founding members?

A3: Yes, I’d say that almost everyone was keen. We all felt that we could and should do something to contribute.

Q4: As a Grind member, what about our mission resonates with you? 

A4:  I’ve always thought that it was a pity that we worked in an industry (financial markets) that was so full of maths and science skills but that we lived in a country that has such a shortage of them in education – what resonates with me is that part of what we are trying to do is bridge that gap between black professionals who have some abundance of skills and experience and some resources to offer and our disadvantaged communities where these are so scarce.

Q5: What, in your opinion, has been our biggest moment / milestone so far?

A5: I don’t know that there’s one moment in particular. What I am most proud of is that we have been able, in our very small way, to make a material difference in the lives of the people and projects we support: we help children to access music and art lessons; we help young women to get sanitary pads so that they don’t have to stay away from school when they are menstruating; we’ve given school kids access to internet learning materials; and the people whose projects we support know that they can rely on us to help them to reach the goals they’ve set for themselves. It always makes me quite emotional to get their messages of gratitude to The Grind. I’m glad we’ve built something that helps people in this way.

Q6: What would you like to be remembered for - what type of legacy would you like to leave?

A6: In terms of the Grind Foundation – I’d like to leave a healthy trust fund, perhaps with an endowment to help make the Foundation sustainable and able to disburse even in difficult times for donations such as this current Covid one. I’d like to make sure that its governance and compliance systems are robust and sustainable so that it can retain the confidence of its donors and of SARS.

Q7: This edition of the newsletter is inspired by Heritage Month and Our Origins. How important is heritage to you?

A7: Heritage is of paramount importance. I believe that one of the main reasons you have a confidence gap between white and black young people is that the former is bombarded with the message that he is the heir to a great legacy of western civilization while the latter is given the message that her people were nothing before the arrival of white settlers. Both messages are completely wrong but they have a lasting impact. As the editor of the annual report it has been one of my tasks to try and reverse this false understanding of our heritage as Africans and to show that: we come from a tradition of civilizations with proud achievements, which traded with the world, produced great art and scholarship and contributed immensely to the continuum of human civilization and that black business in South Africa did not start with BEE deals. I believe that the more the black child is taught about these things the more she will gain the confidence to claim her place in the world.

Grind Feed: Nyiko Mageza