The brainchild of Africa Adventure’s Enya Fehler and Andrea Doerfert – two German women with significant links to SA – the Mitsubishi Africa Adventure Cape to Cape Expedition features participants from Holland, Peru, the UK and Germany. A non-profit foundation has also been set up to direct remaining funds from the expedition and other donations to child education charities in Africa.
The elder of two girls “raised by two strong woman: my grandmother and my dearest mom” in as single-parent family, Mpakanyiswa says education has been her ticket around the world. She studied a BCom majoring in economics, statistics, banking and business management at the University of Pretoria, which took her from trainee foreign exchange dealer at Standard Bank to an equity dealer’s role at Coronation Fund Managers in Cape Town, followed by a two-and-a-half-year stint in London and, more recently, a position at JPMorgan-Chase in New York.
“Working overseas fulfils my need for exploring. It exposes me to many different cultures and ways of thinking,” says Mpakanyiswa.
She firmly believes that “women are as fearless as men” – an attitude which will stand her in good stead during eight months of travelling through 28 African and European countries in five Mitsubishi-sponsored Pajeros.
The adventure starts on 2 March next year at Cape Agulhas and concludes in North Cape, Norway, 40 000 km or so later. |
