Last night I was the guest speaker at the Nedbank Student Evening that was held at their Rondebosch branch. I had spoken at a Business Network event the night before and the branch manager - Naeem Cassim - asked me if I would come along and inspire his guests. I have to say that when I arrived I was blown away. Not only is Naeem the youngest branch manger in the country by 4 years - he is only 22 - but he also has incredible vision and foresight into the fact that banks need to think out the box when it comes to catering to students.
His Student Evening saw the bank turned into a club - complete with dj, smoke machine, lights, a tellers desk serving as a bar and boxes of pizza on tap to fill everyone up. The objective was to get the students networking and have a chance to chat to consulatants in an informal environment and it worked! I gave a 20 minute talk on innovation and finished with "Shine" which had everyone singing along with me! Nedbank kindly bought a bundle of my albums and gave them away to students in the crowd and then the dj kicked in and the party started! It was a fantastic evening and really inspired me to see the financial community understanding the importance of connecting in a way that resonates. Well done Naeem!
