Colin Leshou

Colin Leshou
Job title: Group Executive: Ecosystem and Stakeholder Management (Acting)
Executive Summary
Mr. Colin Leshou serves as the Group Executive: Ecosystem, Stakeholder Management, Public Relations and Marketing and Corporate Communications (Acting) at the newly established Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA). He also worked as the Chief Strategy and Information Officer (Acting) at the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) in South Africa. His extensive experience includes roles such as Executive Manager (acting) of the Seda Technology Programme and Provincial Manager for Seda Gauteng, overseeing the management of Seda's Enterprise Development Division and Technology Support for small businesses. With 17 years at Seda, Mr. Leshou has developed a deep understanding of small business development and has implemented programs to foster sustainable small businesses and cooperatives.

In his current role, Mr. Leshou's responsibilities include developing and overseeing the implementation of the organizational strategy and performance methodologies, policies, and procedures. He leads the planning and reporting function of the organization, analyses and evaluates performance, and provides management reports on strategy implementation. Additionally, Mr. Leshou manages the Division’s resources, including finance, assets, and personnel.

Mr. Leshou holds a Masters's Degree in Development Finance from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. His academic research focuses on critical areas of entrepreneurship, such as entrepreneurial competencies for female entrepreneurs and the role of credit guarantee schemes in small business development. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Leadership (DBL) and a Masters in Finance and Investments, both to be completed by the end of 2025.

Internationally, Mr. Leshou has participated in key small business engagements, including the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Cape Town (2024), Melbourne (2023), and Riyadh (2022), influencing the small business development agenda and promoting South African small businesses. He was a speaker at the INBIA conference in Atlanta, USA (2022), discussing "The State of Business Incubation in South Africa." He also led a delegation from Seda to the British High Commission's Cyber Security Conference in London (2022), participating in a roundtable discussion on the effect of cybersecurity on South African small businesses. During October 2023, Colin further led a delegation to Brazil where he participated in a panel discussion on "Digitalization of Small Businesses Worldwide"

Mr. Leshou is deeply passionate about Africa's economic growth through small businesses and engages entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

Additional Information:

Television and Radio Interviews
National TV Shows
No Channel Show Occurrence
1 Kyknet Die Groot Ontbyt 10 Episodes
2 SABC 1 Yilungelo Lakho 2 Episodes
3 DSTV Business Day TV 1 Episode
4 SABC 2 Disability Summit 1 Episode
National Radio Interviews
No Station Occurrence Live/ Pre-Recorded
1 Metro FM 2 Live
2 YFM 3 Live
3 RSG 4 Live
4 SAFM 2 Live
5 Power FM 1 Live
6 Cliff Central 1 Live
7 Groot FM 90.5 10 Live
Local Radio Interviews
1 Tshwane FM 1 Live
2 Eldos FM 5 Live
3 Poort FM 2 Live
4 Lekoa FM 1 Live
5 Moretele FM 2 Live
6 Hope FM 4 Live

Speaker / Moderator Events
 University of Johannesburg Annual Dr Richard Maponya Lecture, Soweto Campus;
 OECD Summit, Karlsruhe, Germany;
 Tourism Summit, Sandton Convention Centre;
 Innovation Summit, Cape Town;
 6th Annual Tri-Nations (India, Brazil and South Africa) Conference on Small and Medium Enterprises;
 Proudly SA Buy Local Summit;
 Wits Tshimologong French Tech Labs Summit;
 BioCiti Labs Inauguration;
 Daily Sun SME Summit;
 Standard Bank SME Summit;
 TOPCO Media SME Summit;
 Dialogue in Partnership with the United Nations Development Programme;
 World Bank Financial Inclusion Summit; and
 Moderator at the Presidential MSME and Cooperative Summit.