Brics and Economic Development: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Byelongo Elisée Isheloke is a business economist, turn-around strategist and independent research consultant.  He currently works as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cape Town since the 01 July 2018. He graduated with a PhD in Management Sciences, specialising in Business Administration at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) where he also worked as a lecturer. He obtained his Master’s in Business Administration in 2013 and his Bachelor (Honours) in Management in 2008.  He completed his undergrad qualifications in Business Management with Merit. In that grade he achieved 3 distinctions. Byelongo currently co/supervises Master’s and honours students. His research interests include Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), Mineral beneficiation policy interventions, BRICS’s partnership, extractive companies’ management, Waste management, and pedagogy. He has published both nationally and internationally. His learning curiosity took him to several countries in Africa and abroad. Among his achievements, Byelongo completed a diploma in Education with the highest mark in 1996 State Examinations in the DRC. He studied science as a discipline for four years (Lettres modernes) in Bujumbura at high school level. As a motivational speaker, he preaches to the local and international communities.

Byelongo was once employed as an Operations Co-supervisor and Health & Safety Officer at the then Eurotrade Metals Africa for three years. He has delivered important (keynote) speeches at political gathering of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS in French acronym) and on Africa Day celebrations organised by the DUT. He also participated in international summits such as the World Conference Against Racism and the World Conference for Sustainable Development. With over 14 years of experience as an educator, he worked as a web journalist for the MiningIR during the 2019 Mining Indaba the outcome of which gave birth to +- 10 eNews articles. He has two books under his name and a variety of other publications.

Gustave Mungeni Kankisingi is a lecturer and Management consultant. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate level modules on Management Practices, Operations and Project Management, Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurial Studies and Management at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa. As a consultant, he renders services to several small and medium enterprises, and he provides corporate training to several corporate as per demand. His PhD thesis focused on “Entrepreneurial Orientation, Organisational Orientation and Innovation Performance of Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises”. His most recently research projects include: “Differences in Innovation Performance between Family and Non-Family owned SMEs”, “Rewarding Innovation Performance and Strategic Readiness of SMEs in South Africa” and “The relationship between Individual Knowledge Transfer and Behaviour Patterns in the capacity building of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)”.

Dieudonné Nyandu Kabongo is a shipping professional with a vast experience in global logistics and maritime industry. For 13 years, he worked for the French Ocean Carrier CMA CGM South Africa in his Durban office as Documentation Manager and Later as Cost Control Manager.

In 2013, he became the Country Manager working as Managing Director of CMA CGM Zambia in Lusaka, with the main task to lead and develop CMA CGM business in this land-linked country of Southern Africa. He left this post to start up his private practice in Durban as a Consultant in Shipping and International trade in 2017. He had served as Treasurer at the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, South Africa Branch, between 2009 and 2013.

Dieudonné  graduated at the Catholic University of Kinshasa in 1997 in Development Studies before moving to Durban, South Africa. While working, he trained with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, in order to obtain a professional certificate in the shipping industry. Subsequently, he enrolled with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban and completed a Master’s degree in Maritime Studies. He has extensively travelled across Africa, visiting most of the major ports. His research interests include port economics, harbour tariffs, liner trades and multimodalism. He is fluent in English and French and enjoys reading philosophy, history and politics.

Kresenta Moodley Sewnath is a professional working in the Banking Sector. She recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Business administration which is based on the study of the Basel III Accord and how it affects banks' profitability. She enjoys researching on studies that are finance related. In time of leisure she enjoys spending quality time with family and exploring new places by travelling. Her future aspiration is to become a portfolio credit manager. She plans to enrol for a PhD as soon as possible. Kresenta could be contacted at +27735725890.

Prof Shamila Singh’s research, teaching, coaching, and consulting services reflect her interest in human resources, leadership, governance, inclusivity, and sustainability. Shamila has a doctorate in business leadership from School for Business Leadership (Unisa), Master in Business Leadership (Unisa), a Honours Degree in Industrial Psychology, Development Programme in Labour Relations and a Qualification in Coaching.

Shamila is involved in academic and research work for Unisa, MANCOSA, Open University, UNISA School of Business Leadership, Regent Business School, Durban University of Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Institute of Marketing Management.  Her research has been published and presented at conferences nationally and internationally. She is also a business and executive coach, mediator, Masters HR Practioner and HR Lead Auditor.

In her previous role at SABPP she was the Head of the Audit Division and now is Head of HR Standards Division.  As a Master HR Practitioner she focuses on HR strategy, research, HR Quality, and capacity development.  She is the managing director of Unique Consulting Services that specialises in leadership development, OD, HR specialist advisory services and coaching.

Shamila is a board member of the South African Nursing Council, NISSA Institute for Women Development and Southern African Society for Quality (SASQ).  Shamila was also a member of the advisory committee of HR at Unisa and University of Johannesburg.

Shamila’s corporate career started in retail sector in several HR related positions and then she held a senior management position in the not-for-profit sector.  She is accredited by numerous professional bodies, namely, SA Board for People Practices, Health Professional Council of SA, Board Health Funders, Center for Effective Dispute Resolution (UK) and as an assessor\moderator with a number of SETAs.

Mulongetsha Basele graduated with the degree of Baccalaureus Technologiae in Public Relations Management in 2012 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He also completed, in the same Public University of Technology (UoT), a National Diploma in Public Relations Management in 2011. As a professional, he is bilingual (French and English) and that ability allowed him to get involved in community activities and work as interpreter. He is originally from the DRC where he obtained a Diploma in Administration and Business Management in 1999 at UNIC-ISGEA/BUKAVU, in the Eastern South-Kivu.

Tiema Muhindi holds a BTech Journalism degree (cum laude) and a Masters of Journalism degree (cum laude) which are supported with an elaborate industry experience having worked as a weekly columnist for daily newspapers i.e. THE WITNESS, THE NEWAGE and as Chief Editor for Politics Update magazine. All these are South Africa’s publications. He is currently lecturing journalism and media studies. The year 2016 saw the publication of his poetry anthology book titled Under the same sky. In the year 2018 he presented a research paper during the annual Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation Conference organised by Durban University of Technology. This resulted in the publication of of his research paper, the impact of television soap operas on Zulu traditional marriages, in Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics and Business Law (IJEBL) and also a book by the same title His research areas of interest include the relationship between media and indigenous languages, media and cultural studies, media and politics, politics of ethnicity. He is currently a PhD candidate.