Mpho Mukosi
Johannesburg - South African Housing and Infrastructure Fund’s CEO and philanthropist, Rali Mampeule, 43, from Makwasele, Limpopo, has won the 2023 BBQ South African Community Builder of the Year Award.
The award handover ceremony, graced with the presence of Deputy President Paul Mashatile, among other government and business leaders, was held at the Emperors Palace last month.
The BBQ Awards, South Africa’s most prestigious and longest running black business awards ceremony, have been celebrated for the past 19 years and have recognised champions of transformation in different business sectors. The awards encourage and promote sustainable black business and transformation through the recognition of good corporate governance, leadership and achievement.
Expressing his gratitude for the recognition, Mampeule said: “This award is very important to me, and it came at a critical time in our country where we need to celebrate and encourage each other in the good work that we are doing.”
In his 22-year career in the real estate sector, Mampeule has received multiple awards. In 2005, he was awarded the “Nedbank Young Lion Award”. In 2007, he was named the South African “Nedbank Property Professional of the Year”.
In addition, Mampeule was awarded the 2008 Africa Heritage Society Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2019, he became the first South African to join the Forbes Real Estate Council. Recently, he was also awarded the Socio-Economic Impact Award by the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners.
The BBQ Community Builder of Year Award serves as a further affirmation of Mampeule’s innovation-led and collaboration-centric approach to business through SAHIF and philanthropy through the Mampeule Foundation. The Mampeule Foundation donated in excess of R20 million to the United Nations-aligned Global Surgery Foundation, launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020. It is governed by a distinguished board that includes Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, and the former Deputy President of South Africa.
The University of Johannesburg’s Sustainable Materials and Construction Technologies research unit, with whom the Mampeule Foundation, in partnership with the Department of Science and Innovation, recently completed and launched the first 3D-printed concrete house in South Africa.
“We welcome the recognition that the award confers on our work, but more importantly, we are glad that the Community Project achieved its objective and went further to improve living conditions for a community of approximately 300 people and contributed positively to their health and well-being,” said Mampeule.
The Star