Olivia Dyers

Director Digital Leadership

Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Provincial Government, South Africa

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"I have had the privilege of working with Emma Kaye during her tenure as Executive Director of the Cape Digital Foundation (CDF). She joined the organization at a complex and difficult time, taking over the helm from a previous leader who had left it in a severely  compromised position.

 

Although I did not know Emma prior to this, her tenacity, innovativeness, and passion for digital inclusion impressed me and is really exemplary. She is strategically sound and applies governance principles with the meticulousness and character it demands. She is a problem solver and a solution-finder and works hard at building and maintaining relationships across a wide array of stakeholders from the boardroom to the township spaza shop owner.

 

What Emma achieved during her time at the CDF was phenomenal and she has been a champion for smart townships and township integration into the digital economy. Her work is demonstrable of what a small team with great resolve and commitment can achieve to affect positive change in a community.

 

Additionally, I would like to stress here that partnerships with government are not easy. We are a complicated machine and being a government stakeholder, implies that the reporting and quality assurance compliance rigor can be extremely taxing. Emma handled partners and role-players with finesse and has an appreciation for the nuances and sensitivities required when dealing with high-level officials and citizens alike. She is firm but flexible and at pains to ensure that the best quality project outcome is achieved.

 

I would work with Emma again, any day."

 

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