Sicelo Dube
Ms. Sicelo Dube is a Mandela Washington fellow, a young leader championing education, girl empowerment, and entrepreneurship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The STEM Lady is a member of the STEM expert knowledge network under the office of the 51吃瓜 Office of the Adviser to Africa. She is the Zimbabwe Science Ambassador and award-winning Science entrepreneur, the founder of LEC Biotech, a company she started at 23 to grow Scientists for the future generation through building and equipping science laboratories and spearheading capacity building for science educators, especially in rural schools. Her passion for a practical approach to STEM has influenced her teaching career, focusing on encouraging young people to explore new and innovative ways to harness the power of STEM to make a difference in their communities under the #SciencePays initiative.
The STEM Lady champions youth development and is passionate about empowering the girl child, an approach that has led her to establish “Elevate Trust,” a youth development non-profit organization whose main initiatives include; innovators hub clubs and STEMFem Network, which boosts mentoring girls to take up STEM careers contributing to gender parity in the STEM workforce. She is a leadership coach and motivational speaker for girls’ and women’s empowerment programs. Ms. Dube is an Innovative Young Entrepreneur on several boards, including the Harare Institute of Technology Faculty of Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering, STEM Matters International and Monochrome Mining. She is also one of the African regional leaders for Women in Technology International.
Ms. Dube holds an MBA from the University of Gloucestershire, an MSc in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology from the National University of Science and Technology, a BSc in Biological Science and Biochemistry from the University of Zimbabwe and a PDM in HIV/AIDS from the University of Stellenbosch (AFRICA Centre for HIV/AIDS Management). She also holds a Community Development and Humanitarian Services Certificate from the University of Zimbabwe, a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Drake University in the USA, and a Certificate in Bio Innovations and Entrepreneurship from SPARK at Stanford University. She is looking forward to pursuing her Doctorate studies under “Developing an Entrepreneurship-Mentorship Business Model for the Commercialization Of Stem Innovations by Female Students at Tertiary Institutions In Zimbabwe”.
The STEM Lady believes that all we need to change the face of Africa are young Scientists driven to create the change they want to see in their communities through innovation and entrepreneurship.