Frank Magwegwe

Frank’s story is about the journey from invisible to invincible, resilience, resourcefulness, hope, courage, compassion, persistence, purpose and above all the power of the human spirit described by Dr Sherwin Nuland, author and surgeon as follows:
“By the human spirit, what I mean is the ability that each one of us has to be something greater than herself or himself; to arise out of our ordinary lives and achieve something that at the beginning we thought perhaps we were not capable of.”

Frank Magwegwe is an entrepreneur, personal finance and employee financial wellness expert, active citizen, and business speaker whose work has been recognized by many esteemed organizations. A lifelong learner, Frank is reading for his doctorate in financial planning at Kansas State University.

In 1992, Frank was homeless, broke and unemployed.

Frank’s first business was selling fruit and vegetables in Johannesburg CBD. Through this business Frank “beat the odds” and “escaped” homelessness. Not all of Frank’s business ventures have been a success. His second business, Foremost Futures, a derivatives trading and structuring business folded within 12 months back in 2002.

A decade after “beating the odds” and “escaping” homelessness, Frank had completed a BSc and first class BSc with honours at Wits University and MSc with distinction at University of Pretoria,South Africa.

Finding that his own values aligned more with the guardianship of assets than proprietary trading at a bank, Frank joined Coronation Fund Managers. Later he joined Investment Solutions as Head of Institutional Business in 2007. During that time he trained pension fund trustees in basic investment skills and began his studies for his Certified Financial Planner certification. The shift in the application of his expertise in derivatives trading to the financial wellness of the ordinary man was a progression on the journey to finding purpose.

Executive positions at Momentum followed – CEO Momentum Administration Services, COO: Momentum Wealth and segment CEO for Momentum Middle Market. In these roles, Frank consistently applied his talent for motivating people, improving employee engagement and building teams.

A pitstop in his life journey saw Frank completing the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School during 2013. Inspired by the work of Professor Clay Christensen on purpose described in his book How Will You Measure Your Life During this time, on his return to South Africa, Frank established Inspire Belief, a non-profit organisation with a mission to drive social change by igniting educational opportunities for students in poor communities – recognising that education unlocks opportunity which unlocks personal wealth which incrementally unlocks the shackles of poverty and is a bridge to a better life.