Edition August 2025

When the International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA), FASSET, and Duke University’s Corporate Education launched the Women in Leadership Programme (WLP) in 2022, they planted the seeds of a movement designed to uplift 1 000 women in the financial sector. 

But the real impact of the programme looks set to go beyond the reach of these female executives, with its tentacles set to reach women at all levels across the sector – thanks to beneficiaries, who are committed to paying it forward. 

Following their graduation, many of the women who completed the WLP came together to form the IWFSA Alumni Network, a powerful collective of women leaders from across the public and private sectors. The purpose? To “pay it forward.” The alumni initiative is built on the principle of lifting as they rise – empowering the next generation of women leaders using the knowledge, tools and mentorship they received through the programme.

“The idea of the alumni is to pay it forward,” says Devrani Moonsamy, one of the founding graduates in a recent interview with Public Sector Manager magazine. “We have realised how beneficial this beautiful programme was and how many tools it has given us to be able to then deal with the challenges that women face. A woman’s life is just unique”. 

Moonsamy currently serves as Head of Finance at the Ombud Council, where she is responsible for budgeting, reporting, risk and audit coordination, and financial strategy. 

Paying it forward

The programme’s alumni have become active mentors and role models, creating platforms for growth, learning and meaningful connection. “Women need to hear that other women are going through the stuff that they are going through. With the skills that we have developed, we mentor a lot of people. It is an initiative that we have undertaken,” explains Moonsamy.

The Alumni Network is led by an executive committee of 20 members and operates through dedicated portfolios focused on mentorship, education, wellness and professional development. “We have created different portfolios that manage different aspects because we want it to be a proper structure,” says Moonsamy.

 “We get our networks to sponsor venues, we host online and in-person sessions, and we invite excellent speakers to speak on real topics that affect women.”

A recent session tackled the often-overlooked topic of menopause – an issue with profound implications for many women. “It was a very significant topic for women because it affects them dramatically,” she explains. “Some women do not even know they are going through it. So, creating awareness on that is so important because it impacts your work, it impacts your studies - everything”. 

Through these initiatives, the alumni are not only providing support – they are reshaping the leadership landscape. “We are hoping to have improved plans for the years to come. The alumni is something that is geared towards making South Africa better from a woman’s perspective. Women need to be uplifted, and for us, we have identified this cause as a responsibility of ours”.

Moonsamy is a highly accomplished finance executive with close to 20 years of experience in the public sector

Public service

Her public service journey began at the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) in 2006, where she completed her articles before moving to Boxing South Africa. “At Boxing South Africa, the audit findings were like 140 pages when I joined and every year it was the same thing,” she recalls. “During my time at the AGSA, I was inspired to join the Public Service to try and improve systems and processes – financial reporting, specifically”. 

She went on to serve in senior roles at the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal, helping both organisations achieve clean audit outcomes. “By the time I left the Competition Tribunal, they also had no audit findings,” she says proudly. “When I left – which was during the COVID-19 pandemic – I had made the finance environment completely paperless”.

In 2023, she joined the then newly established Ombud Council. “It was a new organisation. It had no systems, no bank, no policies,” she says. “When they said that this was a Schedule 3A entity, I was really excited to come in and start policies from scratch. It was such a blessing because it is hard to change policies in established institutions”.

Finding her purpose

But for Moonsamy, the WLP redefined everything. “I knew I was doing all these good things but I could not put into perspective as to what was my purpose”, she reflects. “Before starting the programme, I was not as deep as I am now in terms of understanding [the impact] of the work that I am doing. I used to work and want to succeed, but now I work to improve the lives of South African citizens”.

She describes the programme as transformative. “It gives you these leadership tools that allow you to deal with anything. It gives you the strength and ability to know that you can overcome anything”.

The programme was fully funded and structured over three years, with three cohorts being selected to reach the 
1 000 woman goal.

 “Following the conclusion of the programme, the women – who hold significant positions in both the public and private sector – were empowered so that they could in turn empower and uplift other women”.

That responsibility now drives her. “I hold it very close to my heart to develop people who do work for the country,” she says. “We do not get paid to do this [alumni] work. We are giving our time and effort – we do not even have funders yet – to create something that was never there before.”

Moonsamy now describes herself as a “public sector angel”  – a woman inspired not only to lead, but to lead with purpose. “My inspiration is to improve the public sector...And through the alumni, we are creating a new blueprint for what empowered leadership in South Africa should look like”.