Thebe Ikalafeng: South Africa’s ‘Mr Brand’

Thebe Ikalafeng is regarded as a leading marketing authority throughout Africa and beyond, and he is a well-travelled adventurer. He told Daluxolo Moloantoa how his Catholic upbringing and education provided a key to his success.

An adventurous spirit has taken marketing expert and bestselling author Thebe Ikalafeng to extraordinary places. He has visited every country of Africa, tracked rare silverback gorillas in East Africa’s Virunga Mountains, climbed the summits of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Sinai, bungee-jumped from South Africa’s 216-metre-high Bloukrans Bridge, and even ventured to Antarctica and Greenland.

Throughout his extensive travels, Thebe has remained deeply rooted in the Catholic faith in which he grew up. He makes it a point to explore the spiritual foundations of every country he visits. One of his most cherished possessions is a cross from the basilica of Our Lady of Africa in Algiers (featured last month in our “Great Marian Shrines Around the World” series). A special memory is attending Easter Mass in the cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception in Victoria, Seychelles, having joined a Stations of the Cross procession through the streets of the island nation’s capital.

Always on the move

Thebe has always been a man on the move, juggling multiple responsibilities. His late grandmother, Regina Dikalabua Ikalafeng, who raised him in a strict Catholic household in Galeshewe, Kimberley, often remarked: “Thebe, o lonao” (“You’re always on the road”). As a result of his many commitments, it wasn’t uncommon for him to be the last to arrive — whether for class or for Mass — after completing his duties as the eldest grandchild.

“On Sundays, my grandmother would wake me up very early to scrub the stoep around our home before rushing to wash up for church,” he recalled. “The Our Lady of Fatima shrine church was a 25-minute walk from home.”

This ability to manage multiple responsibilities has remained a defining trait throughout Thebe’s life. Rising through the corporate ranks, he became a leading figure in branding, advertising and marketing in South Africa and across Africa. His contributions extend beyond the business world; he is a sought-after thought leader, writer, speaker and mentor.

A Catholic family

Thebe was born on July 15, 1966, at Galeshewe Hospital. His mother, Mirriam, was a career nurse. His grandmother, Regina, was an active member of the St Anne Sodality.

The Catholic faith runs deep in his family. In the 1960s, his uncle, Bassie Ikalafeng, studied for the priesthood, but did not complete his training. Cousin, Dineo “Meide” Mpuang is a Franciscan Sister of Siessen in Germany, and her brother, Kgosi Peter Mpuang, is a deacon in the archdiocese of Johannesburg.

As a child, Thebe was actively involved in his parish, singing in the church choir, which was directed by his uncle, Dan Mpuang.

“The layout of our neighbourhood reflected the stark segregation of apartheid South Africa,” Thebe recalled. “To the left was the white suburb of West End, while to the right were Indian-owned shops. Behind our school were the white-designated West End cemeteries, and in front of us was our Galeshewe township.”

Thebe was educated at St Dominic’s Primary School and St Boniface High, the township school run by the Irish Christian Brothers.

During his time at St Boniface, Christian Brothers Timothy Dolan and Donald Madden “had a profound impact on me during my formative years”.

The 1985 school uprising

In 1985, his matric year, Thebe became head boy at St Boniface High School. It was a turbulent time, with the apartheid government declaring a state of emergency and shutting down schools nationwide amid student boycotts. “Private Catholic schools like ours were often insulated from strikes,” he noted. “Initially, the Christian Brothers resisted closing St Boniface, but eventually, we too joined the nationwide boycott against apartheid education.”

Thebe and his classmates stayed home, putting their studies on hold, unsure when they would be back in school for the 1985 academic year.

“In September or so, after we had attended barely a quarter of the school year, the apartheid government finally gave in and reopened the schools. Br Madden, who lived on campus and had kept in touch with us all year, suggested that we take our matric finals at the end of October.”

A group of six matric students, including Thebe, chose to explore the opportunity, while the majority believed that the time available was insufficient to catch up on the academic year. “Our rationale was that if we don’t pass, at least we’ll have an advantage for the next full school year’s exams.”

Br Madden proposed an accelerated revision programme to prepare the small group for their final exams in just a few weeks. The programme took place at St Patrick’s College in Kimberley and Christian Brothers College in Bloemfontein.

“It was a race against time to prepare us. When the exams arrived, we were ready and receptive to whatever the results would be,” Thebe recalled. When the results were announced, all participants had successfully passed, with Thebe achieving the highest marks in the class, and qualifying for university admission.

He credits his Catholic education with helping to shape his character. “I’m grateful for the Catholic education and the Christian Brothers, who expected the best of us. They were esteemed for their high standards, whether in urban or rural areas, or segregated areas. I believe it shaped my resilient and resourceful pursuit of excellence and a values-driven approach to everything I do.”

After two-and-a-half years at Wits University in Johannesburg, Thebe received a scholarship to study in the US at Marquette University, a Jesuit institution in Milwaukee. There he earned a BSc in business administration (cum laude) in 1992, followed by an MBA in 1993. In 2021, he also obtained a master of laws (LL.M) in intellectual property law from the University of Turin, Italy.

Career in branding

After completing his studies in the US, Thebe began his career at Colgate-Palmolive in New York in 1993. He returned to South Africa the following year to join the company’s Johannesburg office and later worked for the Sun International hotel chain. In 1996, he took on a transformational role as chief marketing officer for Nike Africa. There, Thebe led groundbreaking campaigns with the Johannesburg-based ad agency Jupiter Drawing Room, earning both local and international recognition.

In 2002, he left Nike to establish the Brand Leadership Group, Africa’s first specialist branding agency. Today, the firm continues to build, grow and protect brands across the continent. Under Thebe’s leadership, the company has contributed to the growth of major institutions, including the University of South Africa (UNISA). He also founded Brand Africa, a non-profit pan-African movement to promote the continent, and the Africa Brand Leadership Academy.

Thebe Ikalafeng has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Financial Mail AdFocus (2021) and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (2022) and was honoured as an “Industry Icon” at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2023. New African Magazine listed him as one of the “100 Most Influential Africans”. In recognition of his contributions to the industry, branding and Africa, he has also been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Johannesburg and UNISA.

Beyond branding, Thebe is also a published author, debuting in bookshops at the young age of 28. His first book, Conquer the Job Market (1994), was the first by an African to focus on personal branding. Almost three decades later, in October 2023, he released his bestselling memoir, The Traveller.

One of his favourite prayers is an old Irish blessing: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

And his favourite hymn since childhood is “He’ll Understand And Say Well Done”. Thebe said: “In a way, it has become my mantra on how I see my time on earth — to give the best of what I can.”

Thebe’s key advice to young Catholics navigating their careers is this: “Your spiritual grounding shapes your approach to life and work. My Catholic upbringing, and witnessing the selfless commitment of the Christian Brothers, instilled in me a sense of duty — whether through mentorship or my passion for contributing to a better Africa.”

Published in the May 2025 issue of The Southern Cross