Page 103 - KZN Top Business Portfolio - EBOOK 2019

Executive Director of the UKZN Foundation Foundation is to provide a professional fund-raising
service that benefits all stakeholders, including
ROF ANESH MANIRAJ SINGH has a long students, academics, society and the various
history as an academic, having obtained strategic projects of UKZN,” said Prof Singh.
BA, MBA and DBA degrees from the “I work with a team of eleven people who are
PUniversity of Durban-Westville.
every dedicated to ensuring that we raise funding
Since 1999, he has been in the employ of the for the university and its initiatives.” The funding
university; a period of 20 years. In that time, he has is directed towards teaching and learning support,
worked his way up the ladder from a temporary research support, community engagement, and
lecturer through several academic roles and leadership most importantly student funding, which includes
positions at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). bursaries, disability support and food security.
These are interim head of Information Systems and “I believe I am successful because I am now
Technology, Deans Assistant - Research, Head of the at a point in my life where I can give back, I am
Graduate School of Business, and dean and head of successful because I can make a difference in other
the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance. people’s lives.”
One of the highlights of his career was leading the Of importance is that the UKZN Foundation
Graduate School of Business to be recognised as the
Top Brand in KwaZulu-Natal in 2011. strives to cultivate a strong relationship with donors,
which typically consists of trusts, foundations,
In addition, he has served as an executive member businesses, high net worth individuals, alumni and
of the IT Standards Generating Body of SA and the general public. Said Prof Singh, “Maintaining
served on the Education Portfolio of the Computer these relationships is essential to driving the UKZN
Society of South Africa - KZN Chapter. He was Foundation’s fundraising programme.” He said
also the national vice president of marketing of the further, “It does not matter, the size of the donation
Computer Society of South Africa in 2005 and 2006. − big or small, we appreciate all our donors equally.”
Prof Singh has served on several national and Prof Singh said that his late father made a strong
international committees related to his areas of impression on his life by two maxims: “be true to
interest in education. He has presented at many yourself” and “hard work does not kill you”. These
conferences and his research has been published in are maxims which he puts into practice daily. He
journals both locally and internationally. says that his role is about building relationships as
When the position of executive director of these firstly open doors, afterwards you need to
the UKZN Foundation became vacant, he was get to know people and earn their trust, donations
asked to take on the role. This was a position of follow thereafter.
responsibility that Prof Singh was happy to accept, “I try to maximise my time and it is very important
and he was appointed as the executive director of that I spend more than 50% of this out of the office.
the Foundation in 2016. Donors are not sitting at the university, they are out
He commented, “I felt that I would be able to do a in industry and I have to be where they are. UKZN
lot more for the university than from a position of a needs the support of the business community to
single school but rather from one that looks at the total engage more effectively and to invest in the city, the
university and finding solutions for all the students.” province of KZN and ultimately the country.”
The UKZN Foundation is the official fundraising He concluded, “My motto is very similar to Nike
arm of the institution. “The primary function of the but is quite different: I don’t talk about it – I just do it.”

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