Professor Matshediso ‘Tshidi’ Mohapeloa (DBA -TUT, MBA -Mancosa BA -NMU), is currently an Associate Professor, and Coordinator of Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Enterprise Management at the Rhodes Business School. As the Chair of Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE)’s community of practice (CoP) in Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching to support entrepreneurship education curriculum, and research aligned with SDG for societal benefit.

Her work experience has been a transition of development work - business-academia. A research consultant, an academic, and a development expert with extensive work in socio-economic and related issues. She loves working with young, budding entrepreneurs, corporate entrepreneurs (intrapreneurs), creatives, and other entrepreneurial spaces to create social and innovative solutions.

Prof Mohapeloa supervised MBA, M Com, and PhD students. Her publication is based on her areas of interest as her expertise includes entrepreneurship with a social focus, engaging communities in research with impact to strengthen innovative solutions that incorporate technology, to mitigate social and environmental challenges.

Prof Mohapeloa's publications, research, and teaching are based on her interests in entrepreneurship with the social impact outcomes where innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship benefit the community/ local citizens. Through community-engaged research and projects focus on support for township and survivalist entrepreneurs, and cooperatives including those with social impact. The main targets are young entrepreneurs, women-led enterprises, and local community projects.

She authored and co-authored various research outputs and publications in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences. Some of her published work in the African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Development, a chapter in an anthology on Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship – by Learning in Higher Education (LiHE)

Career objectives focus on stimulating young creative minds through knowledge sharing and skills development. With a background in socio-economic combined with a passion for youth, women, children and, people with disabilities (as groups made vulnerable by poverty).

“I believe entrepreneurship can be used as a pathway not only for financial sustainability but to improve people’s quality of life and be good to the planet”.

Milisa Mamase wears many hats. She is an educator, an entrepreneur, a faith leader, and a community servant. She currently serves as a Junior Lecturer at Rhodes University, lecturing Teaching Tools and Technologies course, and is currently completing her Master’s in Education, focusing on preparing teachers for multilingual classrooms.

She recently returned from a life-changing Erasmus Exchange Programme in Belgium, where she studied Training a Global Teacher, majoring in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Global Justice, School Policy and Society and Intercultural Communication modules at the University of Antwerp. She also represented Rhodes University in the Johnson & Johnson Future of Healthcare Challenge, where she was placed second for a project on health innovation.

Milisa leads the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP) and is the founder of Rhodes University a local Economic Development (RU-LED), a student initiative launched in 2024 to connect studentpreneurs with local businesses in Makhanda.

During COVID-19, Milisa started her own poultry business in her backyard, raising broiler chickens to support her family and elderly local and church members during festive seasons. She is also a pastor and co-leader of Beautiful Gate Ministries, where she and her husband lead a congregation.