Thandeka Mpuisang

Thandeka Palai is a professionally registered architect and fashion designer. She holds a master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Cape Town and has over eight years of experience in the architectural industry. She worked at Paragon Architects in Johannesburg, and Peerutin Architects in Cape Town before founding Lebone Architects, based in Gaborone, Botswana. Lebone’s vision is to create high quality, sustainable, and imaginative design solutions that impactfully address the socio-economic challenges in Africa. In her professional career, she has worked on various award-winning, large scale, green-rated buildings in South Africa and Kenya. A creative at heart, she has also been the recipient of the South African Vukani fashion Award for Best High Fashion and was selected as one of Africa’s Top 100 Brightest Young Minds in 2015. She mentors young women through various organizations, on life skills and career guidance. Thandeka has also been involved with UN-Habitat as a co-editor of the Green City Toolkit for Rwanda that outlines strategies that can be adopted by stakeholders to achieve climate resilient urban growth in developing countries. She believes that solutions to challenges are found through hard work, passion, and commitment to excellence.