Every ecosystem is made of people.
Every person carries a story.
Every story may contain a connection, contribution, or opportunity.
A growing ecosystem of awardees, contributors, leaders, organizations, and changemakers building relationships across Guyana and the diaspora.
Leah Casimero is a young indigenous leader who is passionate about promoting and preserving the culture and identity of her people without which she believes there can be no real empowerment. As the academic coordinator of the Quality Bilingual Education Programme for Wapichan Children, Casimero ensures that learning in schools are meaningful and culturally relevant to the Wapichan child.
Casimero earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Guyana and a professional certificate in Learning Facilitation from The Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU). She represented Guyana at the Special Synod for the Amazon held in Rome in October 2019, where she shared about the leadership of the Wapichan People in building the future they envision for their children through the Quality Bilingual Education Program.
When she is not monitoring, facilitating or creating materials, she spends her evenings hosting programs on Radio Aishalton 95.1FM where she shares uplifting and local content.
Achisha Ramdehol is currently Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales. She resided abroad for many years and recently remigrated to Guyana. During her time in the United States she obtained a degree in finance and subsequently gained experience working with Voya Financial, a Fortune 500 company that serves over fourteen million individuals and institutional clients. She certainly enjoyed living in the Big Apple. Its diversity has allowed her to interact with people from all walks of life.
Achisha exudes passion for travel and is always seeking the next adventure. A successful career in the male-dominated world of finance did not limit her continuous desire to grow and positively impact others. Achisha became certified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and embarked on a new journey to South Korea, a centralized democratic republic located in East Asia. During her time in South Korea, she worked directly with young children teaching them to read, write, and speak English. Achisha has always found gratification in working with and investing in our youth as they are the future of tomorrow.
Achisha’s greatest role model is Rose Ramdehol, her mother and the founder of Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales. Rose Ramdehol broke the socio-cultural barriers placed on women’s participation and success in the auto industry by becoming the first female to independently found an auto dealership in November 1990, while also being a single parent at the time. Being inspired and influenced by her mother, Achisha remains resilient in her focus on a better tomorrow regardless of the limits imposed by others.
Her goal is to use her skills, resources, and experience acquired from across the globe to contribute to the continuous improvement of the lives of our Guyanese population. As Guyana continues to become more diversified, it is of the utmost importance to her that our women and children know that great things are achievable, regardless of gender, ethnicity, politics, religion, sexual orientation or beliefs.
“We are all continuously learning and growing.” She is a firm believer in the Nelson Mandela quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Achisha remains hopeful that we will continue to break barriers. She believes that through collaboration, understanding, and respect the future of Guyana is filled with endless possibilities of success.
Bakang self-identifies as a Botswana-born, Pan-African feminist with an ardent passion for sustainable development and social justice. She believes that her role in Africa’s socioeconomic development story lies within the nexus of entrepreneurship promotion, corporate sustainability strategy and impact investing. To this end, Bakang has held a number of roles across various sectors, including banking, academia, impact investing and corporate innovation.
At present Bakang works for the South African office of a Silicon Valley headquartered company specialising in Corporate Innovation and Venture Capital. Prior to this, she held a strategic project management role within the South African enterprise and supplier development (ESD) sector. This was after having worked as an Impact Investment project manager at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, and before that occupying roles in the banking sector as a mining and construction analyst, and a product manager.
In 2020, Bakang joined the board of US-based, EMI Global and serves on the board’s finance committee. As an ardent supporter of the ecosystem, Bakang contributes her business and finance expertise by serving as a coach and contributing speaker on for various entrepreneurship development Programs. Beyond her professional pursuits, Bakang is a writer, podcaster, and co-founder of a youth development NPO based in Botswana, as well as a Black thought leader’s collective, and is an alumnus of the Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI) Program, and completed the Africa Podcast Fellowship.
Bakang is also co-founder of a diversity and inclusion group that seeks to promote diversity equity and inclusion dialogue and change within South African corporations and organisations.