Dr. Keratiloe Mogotsi is Programme Director of Executive Education at Witwatersrand’s (Wits) Business School, Johannesburg. She is also a lecturer on African Philanthropy at the University.
As a pracademic, researcher, Lean Six Sigma coach, project management professional (PMP), Dr. Mogotsi holds a Ph.D. in African Philanthropy. Her research areas include disaster philanthropy, venture philanthropy, African philanthropy and philanthro-capitalism in Africa.
Dr. Mogotsi's passion for philanthropy struck me the very first time we met. As I was conducting research for The Duality of Giving in 2019, she gave her time to the project and shared stories that were both personal and deeply impactful. In Episode Nine of the Giving Black Podcast, Dr. Mogotsi and I discuss what makes African philanthropy uniquely African.
We talk about family traditions that shaped her understanding of generosity. She shares how unique forms of African generosity augmented a broader understanding of family, reaching beyond her mother, father, and siblings. This philanthropy, she argues, was integral to well organized defences by Africans against the spread of COVID-19, thereby reducing the impact of the pandemic across the African continent.
Dr. Mogotsi also shares how African responses to Cyclone Idai (one of the worst tropical cyclone's on record) in 2021 , saved lives and prevented a catastrophe in South-eastern Africa.
Our conversation centres on how the worlds of African Philanthropy and Western philanthropy are merging into new ways and customs for Black people to give. I am left inspired by Dr. Mogotsi's compelling prediction of the future of African philanthropy. It's a future where communities combine indigenous forms of learning with modern philanthropic practices, to tackle the most modern challenges of our time.