Unathi Sonti
Unathi Sonti started as a peer educator through the loveLife program in year 2000 and then in 2001 he became part of the first loveLife GroundBREAKERS Cohort, the skills he acquired from such a program laid a foundation that led him to venture into a number of businesses or programs.
Coming from humble beginnings, Unathi spent time learning about a rare sector where there is minimal participation by the historically disadvantaged individuals and Cofounded the Maritime Business Chamber (MBC). Now the small chamber that started in Nelson Mandela Bay as the ECMBC has now grown beyond the borders of South Africa. When the world was hit by the Covid pandemic, Unathi worked very hard with his team to beat the odds and build a strong chamber that is now positioned as the voice of the Maritime Industry.
He worked through the maritime industry as an unknown and continues to build a strong voice for transformation and industry development.
His leadership roles include the following:
- Founder and Chairperson – Business Chamber)
- Branch Secretary – Black Management Forum (BMF) Nelson Mandela Bay
- Founder and Deputy Secretary General – African Chamber of Business (ACOB) 2016-2017
- Secretary General – NAFCOC – Nelson Mandela Bay 2012-2016
- Treasurer General – NAFCOC Youth Eastern Cape 2010-2013
Professional Associations & Business Chambers:
- Maritime Business Chamber (MBC)
- Black Management Forum (BMF) & BMF-MLDP Alumni 2022-2023 Cohort
- African Manager Institute (AMI)
- Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI-Southern Africa) Alumni Cohort 2
- ETDP-SETA – Assessor
Unathi has been involved in a number of national development programmes as a manager, trainer and coordinator, some of the programmes include: loveLife HIV/AIDS campaign, SABC Careers, Education and Training Faires (SABC CET), South Africa National Council Against Drugs and Alcohol Abuse -Teenagers Against Drugs and Alcohol Abuse (SANCA-TADA Programme) and the “Ke Moja” Programme a drug and crime prevention project administered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with National Department of Social Development. He has also served as a board member for the South African Development, Research and Training Institute (SADRAT).
Unathi has been a Counselor for Anthony Robbins Foundation Discovery Camps for camps in London (Royal Holloway, University of London) and USA (University of Los Angeles, California), during his term as The Douglas Foundation Secretary General.
He played a major role in the development of Arts and Culture in the Motherwell community where he served as the Secretary General and Coordinator of Motherwell Arts and Culture Organisation (MACO).
Among all the work he has done, he volunteered his time to schools and communities for reading programmes and leadership which were supported by the American Embassy. This program extended to an international students exchange programme hosting students and lectures from San Diego State University (SDSU) during their summer holidays visit to South Africa.
Sonti as many would call him, is an ordained Clergy man serving as the National Administrator at Divine Life Kingdom Centre (DLKC) a church with branches in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape that amongst other activities it does include a nutrition program (soup kitchen) feeding over 200 families.
Unathi is a very dedicated person in all that he does and has great people’s skills, such is evident as he has worked as a community stakeholder facilitator for various projects in hostile communities that through his intervention, those projects were executed to completion.
He continues to equip himself as during the Covid-19 lockdown he participated in the African Management Institute (AMI) Growth network program, then later he participated in the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme that included the TEF-PMI Masterclass es and recently he graduated from the Black Management Forum (BMF) – Middle Managers Leadership Programme (MLDP) 2022-2023.
Unathi is all about Purpose, Leadership, Passion, Humanity, Progress and Accountability.