Zim entrepreneurial prodigy challenges global status quo
THAMSANQA Ndlovu’s story is a rare example of a young gifted African conquering the world.
Ndlovu is the founder of Datadvise, a research and consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, which consists of a globally-distributed team of regional and local subject-matter experts serving corporate clients internationally.
His organisation has research teams in North America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
Prior to establishing Datadvise, he worked with some of the world’s leading management consulting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Investor Group Services.
He worked directly with the C-Suite, providing sound market research insights to support private equity and venture capital investment decisions in complex buy-side mergers and acquisitions.
To date, Datadvise has serviced many companies across the globe from pre-seed start-ups to fortune 500 entities spanning industries.
These include firms offering consumer products and services, enterprise software, mobile apps, e-commerce, healthcare, financial services, media and telecommunications.
He has the depth of expertise across 35 industries. Some of the clients include Microsoft, Deluxe Corporation, Astreya, Clutch, Bitwise Investments, Gryphon Investors, Zebra Technologies, Crumbl Cookies and reTyre to name a few.
Born a middle child, the entrepreneur was raised in the beautiful city of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe to a Zambian mother and a Zimbabwean father.
He did his primary education at Robert Tredgold and proceeded to do his secondary education at John Tallach.
Ndlovu showed great promise very early as a dedicated student and consistently ranked among the top performing students at all educational
levels.
He completed his “A” Level high school education at Anderson High School.
After excelling with straight As, he moved to South Africa to pursue a Bachelor of Arts and Law degree at Wits University.
He describes his educational experiences in South Africa as transformative and instrumental to being where he is today.
“Wits University brought the world into sharp focus and helped me realise that there was a bigger world beyond my little corner of the world in Zimbabwe,” Ndlovu said.
“It was there that I began to make connections with students from other parts of the continent as well as initiating contact with Harvard Law students from the Leadership and International Development Society (LIDS) with a view to forming our own Wits Chapter.”
He practised as an attorney in M&A diligence with a local South African firm before making the switch to business consulting.
“When I eventually moved to Boston to study for a Master’s in Business, I realised the truly connected nature of global events, cultures and business. I was in classrooms with 45 different nationalities and had to navigate a complex cultural matrix all while solving practical and simulated business challenges for brands such as Domino’s, Ferrari and AirBnB. I was also able to travel to London and understand the business culture there,” he recalled.
“Overall, it was a very rich experience that equipped me with the skills I now use to manage and grow my own global firm. Over the past decade, I have lived, worked and studied on three continents, Europe (London), North America (Boston, Dallas, New York and Atlanta) and Africa (Bulawayo and Johannesburg).”
As a firm believer in collaborating to reach successful outcomes, not only is Ndlovu expanding his business but also getting involved in social projects that will assist and uplift start-ups and small businesses, students and entrepreneurs in Africa.
He hopes to start a foundation that will sponsor early primary education for top performing underprivileged children as well as facilitate boot camps that teach kids the skills of the future needed to thrive in today’s changing business environment.-newsday
