Reimagining Africa Through Creative Education Lens
From Coding to Creativity
Born with a curious mind and a passion for problem-solving, Dr. Puleng Makhoalibe began her academic journey with a BSc in Computer Science and Statistics. Her drive for knowledge and impact soon propelled her further. She earned an MBA and a PhD in Business Management from the University of Cape Town, completed an executive programme in exponential technologies at Singularity University, and received a neuroscience for business certificate from MIT. She also holds a coaching qualification from Henley UK.
This unique blend of technical expertise and business acumen became the foundation of her life’s mission: to empower individuals and organisations to innovate boldly and think differently.
In a world where narratives about Africa too often focus on its challenges, Dr. Puleng is telling a different story—one of creativity, innovation, and boundless possibility. A scientist, business strategist, and global thought leader, Dr. P. as she is fondly known, isn’t just changing the game—she’s redesigning the entire playing field.
A Global Voice for African Innovation
Dr. P. is the founder and CEO of Alchemy Inspiration, a startup dedicated to helping organisations unlock their creative potential. Through leadership development, coaching, and consulting, she has inspired thousands of leaders to embrace innovation as a mindset rather than a checkbox exercise.
With 25 years of experience spanning the private sector, government, and academia, she has worked across Africa, Europe, the UK, the USA, and the Middle East. Her work centres on design thinking, creativity, and innovation—tools she believes are essential for Africa’s transformation.
Dr. P. operates at the intersection of science, creativity, and business, weaving an alchemy that propels organisations and individuals forward. She is part of a growing movement of African innovators shifting the global narrative from dependency to ingenuity.
She believes Africa’s greatest resource is its people—and that by nurturing creativity and innovation, the continent can solve its own challenges and lead on the world stage. Dr. P. has shared this vision as a keynote speaker and panellist at numerous international conferences.
Project artistry
The Creative Core of Dr. P.’s Work
At the heart of Dr. P.’s transformative impact is her signature methodology: the Project Artistry Framework. Developed over more than a decade as part of her PhD research, this approach weaves together design thinking, creative problem-solving, and human-centred leadership to help individuals and organisations navigate complexity with imagination and purpose.
When Project Artistry was first introduced in 2011, it was met with scepticism—especially in corporate environments where creativity was often dismissed as unstructured or impractical. But as the world has entered an era defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), the demand for approaches that are both imaginative and rigorous has become undeniable. This holistic model enables teams to move from ambiguity to clarity and from fragmentation to a shared, co-created vision. In 2023, Dr. P. published a white paper on the framework, which you can download here:
Alchemy Inspiration uses the Project Artistry framework across the three pillars of its offering: strategy and consulting, leadership development, and executive coaching.
In Strategy and Consulting
Alchemy Inspiration often gets asked to facilitate strategy sessions for organisations. Whether it is organisation-wide, boards, EXCO, or teams at work, at the heart of the facilitation is tapping into the creative genius of individuals by creating a psychologically safe space for engagement. “Play” is a major role in creating this psychological safety. The process of facilitation is always well thought to engage imagination and logic to ensure that participants’ engagement is optimal.
Some of the organisations that have engaged Alchemy Inspiration for strategy facilitation are Metropolitan, ABSA, FNB, Standard Bank, Alliance Lesotho, Central University of Technology, Zutari (Previously Aurecon), Accenture, Deloitte and many others.
The use of design thinking in strategy facilitation enables a more bottom-up approach, often referred to as open strategy. Unlike traditional top-down models, open strategy actively involves the people closest to customers—those in customer-facing roles—who are often best positioned to provide valuable insights for shaping future direction.
This shift is gaining traction as organisations recognise that effective strategy is no longer developed in isolation. Alongside customer insights, technological advancements and the growing importance of ESG considerations are playing a pivotal role in defining organisational strategy. As a result, multidisciplinary co-creation has become essential to cross-pollinate ideas and build more robust, future-fit strategies.
One notable example is Alchemy Inspiration’s work with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) in 2023. SAICA embarked on an ambitious initiative to open up their strategic planning process to a wide range of stakeholders. From the board and executive committee to management teams, employees, and external partners, Alchemy Inspiration facilitated a series of sessions designed to gather diverse perspectives and ensure the resulting strategy was informed, inclusive, and actionable.
Leadership: Empowering Africa’s Research Pioneers
One of Dr. P.’s most impactful contributions is her work with the African Science Leadership Programme (ASLP), an initiative led by the University of Pretoria and the Global Young Academy. ASLP was created to equip early-to mid-career scientists across Africa with leadership skills that reach far beyond the laboratory—cultivating collaboration, systems thinking, and a commitment to societal impact.
Under the facilitation and mentorship of Maggie Dugan and Dr. P., the programme has transformed scientists into visionary leaders capable of addressing Africa’s grand challenges, from climate change to public health. Dr. P.’s approach ensured that African science is not only globally competitive but also firmly anchored in local relevance.
The use of art, collaborative tools, and reflective practices proved to be fundamentally paradigm-shifting. Participants arrived expecting a conventional leadership programme, only to find themselves painting, drumming, singing, journaling, and forging connections across boundaries and disciplines.
The structure of ASLP was deliberately designed to place fellows at the centre. As the programme progressed, the facilitation team stepped back, empowering participants with tools and mentorship to sustain and expand the initiative independently. Today, the programme is fully in the hands of its fellows, with satellite versions launching in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Liberia, Madagascar, Egypt, Botswana, and many other countries.
From a single spark in 2015, ASLP has inspired over 2,000 researchers across the continent. Yet, only about 180 have embarked on the intensive journey at Future Africa, the programme’s crucible of transformation. Supported by a powerful mentorship model, ASLP has gathered a momentum of its own—unfolding like a tide that continues to expand outward. Throughout the fellowship year, the fellows are equipped with tools and mentorship to sustain their work. The programme stands as a testament.
Participants not only acquired tools to drive innovation within their universities but were also propelled to launch leadership initiatives that are reshaping African science through deliberate collaboration across disciplines and countries.
Stories of scientists emerging from ASLP continue to illustrate its profound impact as they thrive and lead change across the continent. In recognition of this pioneering work, Dr. P. and the facilitation team were awarded honorary African Science Leadership Fellowships in November 2024 at Future Africa in Pretoria.
“Her work is a testament to what’s possible when science meets soul, and when innovation is driven not just by profit, but by purpose.”
Creative Industries: Empowering Storytellers
Dr. P. also applies her innovation expertise to the creative industries. For nearly eight years, she has worked closely with the MultiChoice Talent Factory, a corporate social investment initiative reaching young creatives across more than forty African countries.
As the lead designer and facilitator of the Personal and Social Mastery and Business Acumen for Creatives modules delivered by Henley Business School, Dr. P. has travelled extensively throughout East, West, and Southern Africa to deliver this programme. Its mission is to nurture the next generation of African filmmakers and creative entrepreneurs.
In this work, she guides emerging storytellers to unlock their creative potential through design thinking and entrepreneurial tools. By equipping participants with the mindset and methods to innovate, she is helping to amplify authentic African narratives—stories that capture the continent’s diversity, resilience, and brilliance. To date, the programme has trained over 350 young people in Africa’s film industry.
Dr. P. has also been appointed to deliver Personal and Social Mastery for the Botswana Ignite Programme, an initiative designed to catalyse the country’s creative industries and develop filmmaking skills among youth. Through Alchemy Inspiration’s partnership with the programme, she has led the first phase of the past three cohorts—helping participants build strong connections, self-awareness, and collaborative capacity.
In addition, Dr. P. was invited to serve as a facilitator for the Nigeria Creative Enterprise Support Programme, a collaboration between the British Council and Henley UK that aims to foster partnerships between the UK and Nigeria’s fashion and film sectors. There, she delivered sessions on personal mastery and business acumen to help creative entrepreneurs grow sustainable ventures.
In 2024, she also contributed to the launch of the Henley Africa Creative Universe, further cementing her commitment to supporting Africa’s creative economy.
Enterprise and Supply Development Programmes for Corporates Supporting SMMEs Across the Continent
Dr. P. is frequently appointed to design, deliver, and direct programmes for corporates in South Africa aimed at developing and empowering small and medium enterprises (SMMEs).
Her journey in this space began in 2018, when Accenture approached Henley Business School to collaborate on delivering their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme. Appointed as Programme Director in 2019, Dr. P. led an intensely experiential learning experience that exposed SMME leaders to digital transformation and creative business approaches. The programme challenged entrepreneurs to look beyond their individual company strategies and engage with the broader economic, social, and political landscape—solving for the wider enterprise ecosystem. Building on this success, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) engaged Dr. P. to lead the Postgraduate Diploma component of their ESD programme. For the past three years, she has shaped an offering that has left a distinctive mark on business school education—combining rigorous, relevant business skills with thought-provoking models that encourage entrepreneurs to reflect deeply on their own contexts and the economic challenges facing the continent.
Beyond these flagship programmes, Dr. P. has contributed to numerous other SMME and entrepreneurship initiatives through Alchemy Inspiration. These include the Allan Gray Makers Programme, the Zikhule Seed of Change Programmes, and the World Bank Entrepreneurs Programmes, which have reached participants in several countries, including her home country of Lesotho. She has also played an active role in supporting entrepreneurship ecosystems more broadly. Dr. P. has contributed to multiple start-up incubators across the continent and has supported the South African Innovation Summit for nearly a decade. Additionally, she has engaged with the Afrilabs platform, which has emerged as one of Africa’s leading networks driving SMME growth and innovation.
Women in Leadership programmes
In 2011, Dr. P. was selected for the HERS academy programme which attracts women making waves in the academic space. And later-on joined as a facilitator in the programme invited by the founder, Dr Sabie. Because of her love and passion for growth, and giving back, she went back to deliver in the programme on creativity and innovation for academic women leaders in subsequent cohorts. In 2014 she received an excellence award from the African Creativity community for selflessly serving for five years at the Africa creativity conference. In 2015, she was named among women leading in creativity in the world at a creativity conference in Buffalo, New York. In 2019, she was also chosen for the sort-after Women Leaders of the World programme, where she spent a week in the silicon valley with like-minded women making social impact in a year-long fellowship. She became the cohort-representative and led in her most natural flow and joined the council after the fellowship. She helped the programme transition to virtual in 2020 and became a co-facilitator who propelled the course forward during lock-downs. In 2020, she was selected as Top Woman Young Achiever Finalist by Standard Bank Top women awards. In 2020, she became one of the fifty Top Inspiring Women in Stem Winners.
She had never taken this recognition for granted and always went back to give back and make this a possibility for the next woman especially in male-dominated spaces. She is involved in several Women in Leadership Programmes in the continent to help shape the new narrative for women in STEM and tap into feminine leadership, which she believes is the future. She has written an “un-book” on the Alchemy of Feminine Leadership, which she shares in her Women in Leadership work.
She is involved in several Women in Leadership Programmes across the continent to help shape the new narrative for women in STEM and tap into feminine leadership, which she believes is the future.
Corporate Leadership: Transforming Leaders Across the Continent
Across Africa’s corporate landscape, Dr. P. stands out as a maverick facilitator, programme designer, and director. Through her company, Alchemy Inspiration, and in collaboration with leading institutions such as Henley Business School Africa, the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, and other top business schools, she designs and delivers leadership development programmes that seamlessly blend creativity with strategy.
Her approach is transformative. She empowers executives and leaders to move beyond rigid logic and analysis, unlocking imagination, creativity, and intuition as integral parts of their leadership. Whether in banking, telecoms, mining, engineering, education, or beyond, her work is shaping a new generation of African business leaders-purpose-driven, future-focused, and globally relevant. Her stellar, selfless contributions have helped the institutions she partners with earn international recognition for disrupting, transforming, and empowering their people on a global stage.
The following awards stick out as her major successes in the executive education space:
Among her most significant accomplishments in executive education are the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Global Award-winning programmes, some of the most prestigious accolades in business education.
- EFMD Award-Winning Programmes: Redefining Executive Education in Africa
One of the standout initiatives she contributed to is the #unTAP programme, a 10-day pan-African executive development experience created by Henley Business School Africa and GIBS for Standard Bank. As Design Thinking Coach (2020) and Programme Director (2022), Dr. P. helped shape a journey that unlocked leadership potential across the continent.
These programmes didn’t just teach innovation—they embodied it. Dr. P.’s coaching made creativity a strategic pillar, inspiring participants to reimagine what was possible.
- EFMD Excellence in Practice Award-winning “Acceleration” programme
Dr. P. played a pivotal leadership role in the Acceleration programme, a collaboration between Henley Business School Africa and Standard Bank Group that received the EFMD Excellence in Practice Silver Award in Talent Development in 2022. The award recognised the programme’s innovative, high-impact approach to leadership development across the continent.
The Acceleration Programme: A Vision for African Leadership
Designed to support Standard Bank’s transformation from a traditional bank to a future-ready platform business, the Acceleration programme focused on:
- Developing local leadership pipelines across 14 African countries.
- Promoting internal talent, especially women and underrepresented groups.
- Equipping leaders with the skills to navigate complexity and drive innovation.
As Programme Director, Dr. P. described the programme as:
“A truly African programme empowering leaders to take the bank and the continent forward. The depth of thinking and engagement, the relationships built through laughter, the cultural curiosity and sharing were epic.”
Inclusive Innovation global community
In addition to her facilitation work, Dr. P. Makhoalibe is also a facilitator with Inclusive Innovation (II), a global team dedicated to advancing innovation in developing countries. This organisation focuses on delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring that those often excluded from traditional innovation ecosystems—such as rural communities, women, and youth—are actively involved in co-creation.
Through Inclusive Innovation, Dr. P. facilitates workshops and innovation labs that bring together diverse stakeholders to tackle real-world challenges. Her work emphasises equity, access, and participation, using tools that are culturally relevant and adaptable to local contexts. These sessions are not just about generating ideas—they are about empowering communities to take ownership of their futures.
A recent project she facilitated is the Africa-UK Physics Collaboration, which brought together physicists from the UK and sub-Saharan Africa to co-create ambitious initiatives addressing critical scientific and technological challenges, including climate resilience, sustainable energy, and healthcare. Thirteen of these projects secured funding. More info can be found on this link:
Alchemy Inspiration partners with Inclusive Innovation to unlock Africa’s brilliance through collaboration and creativity. Together, they blend best practices to create an inclusive approach that fuels initiatives making a lasting difference. Contact us to tap into the magic of collaboration.
A New African Renaissance
Dr. P.’s work is a powerful reminder that Africa’s future lies not in imitation but in imagination. By bridging science, creativity, and leadership, she is helping to birth a new African renaissance—one where innovation is indigenous, inclusive, and inspiring.
The driving force behind her work is her belief that it serves God and a purpose greater than herself. She often introduces herself simply: a wife of one, a mother of two, and a sister of three. At the core of her values are spirituality, family, and purpose. “I have only one life. I must show up for that life fully,” she says. She also believes the education she has received comes with a responsibility to use it in service of others—a rare gift on the continent. “My mentor, Jon Foster-Pedley, always says we shouldn’t confuse education with intelligence. Many Africans are brilliant, even if they never had access to formal schooling.”
“Our continent’s richness is in its people. Over the past decade, I’ve worked across Africa with scientists, creatives, and business leaders. I am constantly in awe of what emerges when you liberate minds—when Africans connect deeply to their own contexts while thinking globally and embracing digital tools. The possibilities are endless: innovation without boundaries. This is my passion, my purpose-to witness this unfolding of leaders who refuse to settle, who inspire others to be authentic and globally relevant.”
Dr. P. also carries her heritage wherever she goes. “I try to wear my Lesotho blanket on global stages—it represents my country, my hashtag #leaparakobo, and my pride in Lesotho, the Switzerland of Africa. People are curious about the blanket, and it opens conversations about this diamond in the rough, with all its beauty and resilience.”
What is Your Dream?
Alchemy Inspiration was born from the convergence of science, art, and creative leadership. “I have researched, tested, and continue to explore what happens when you empower the ultimate computer between our ears—our brain. When you give it the right beliefs, mindset, psychological safety, courage and tools, it learns to think for itself and discover its own alchemy to navigate life’s complexity within its context. That is the heart of Alchemy Inspiration.”
Africa is not short of intellect. It is how we define it. We are natural problem solvers—born to innovate under conditions that defy understanding. All we need is to believe in ourselves, unite, and trust that we are the future. By 2030, Africa will be the youngest continent in the world. What greater wealth is there than our people—their minds and their creativity?
Join me in creating, documenting, and spreading the African Alchemy.
The world is moving at an unprecedented pace, and Africa stands at a crossroads. Will we lead, innovate, and define the future—or watch as others shape it for us? Dr. P. refuses to accept anything less than bold, transformative leadership for Africa’s youth. And now, she is building the platform to ignite an unstoppable movement.
The African Youth Leadership Programme is more than an initiative—it is a catalyst for a new era of innovation, science, and entrepreneurship. Inspired by the renowned African Science Leadership Programme, this initiative will cultivate visionary leaders who will not only thrive as individuals but also change the world.
This is the moment. Africa is brimming with talent, ingenuity, and resilience. Yet without investing in leadership, we risk losing the very minds that can solve our greatest challenges and position Africa as a global force.
Dr. P.’s vision is to ensure the next generation doesn’t just dream about change—they create it. Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and cross-sector collaboration, young leaders will gain the knowledge, networks, and skills to drive Africa forward.
If you believe in Africa’s future, now is the time to act. This isn’t about charity—it’s about impact. Supporting this programme means investing in real, tangible change. The leaders nurtured here will shape economies, influence policy, and spark innovation across every sector.
One Life to Live
Dr. P.’s vision is clear: Africa will lead, with its youth as the driving force behind its rise. The only question is—will you be part of this movement?
Dr. P. Makhoalibe: Africa’s Innovation Ambassador to the World
In a world increasingly defined by creativity, technology, and transformative thinking, Dr. P. stands out as a beacon of innovation and leadership. As a trailblazer with a truly global footprint, she has become a powerful voice representing Africa on international stages—championing the continent’s creative potential and redefining how innovation is understood and applied across industries.
