Whizz-kid alert: He’s not your average Gen Z…

It sounds unreal but it’s true. Brandon Badenhorst, 21, has a career that went from being a waiter to an international finance guy in a heartbeat. But it was not just luck, his rapid ascendance was calculated kismet.

Take a snapshot on any day and the average Generation Z may be stuck at a career crossroads, the genesis of a job they do not like or are hanging around waiting for the next big thing. Not Badenhorst.

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Brandon Badenhorst: Young man on a mission with a vision

He has a plan and has willed reality to bend to his ambition. He’s on a mission to attain success while making a difference in the world. A positive one.

Badenhorst does not don denims and sneakers, he sports a three-piece suit and a funky ponytail. He’s a walking Red Bull with energy that knows no limit.

When he’s home, coffee shops double as his office and he takes back-to-back meetings. But most of the time, Badenhorst’s flitting between continents or at his desk at his home base, Dubai. He works for Pierce Dunhill at Dunhill Ventures, a division of the Dunhill family investment office.

It’s a bum-in-the butter kind of job. But he has earned it. Dunhill operates in 14 cities worldwide including the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Part of his purview is to explore and develop the African market for his employer.

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Committed to empower African women

Badenhorst’s vision extends beyond traditional economics and investment opportunities.

His mission encompasses a crucial social aspect, empowering African women in trade and industry.

“We need to ensure that African women get the recognition they deserve. They have been left out of closed circles in Africa where wealth and power are concentrated. We need to change that,” he says.

His commitment to empowering women is so profound that he’s planning to host international roadshows showcasing African companies, particularly women-led ones and says there’s much untapped value.

“There’s a significant amount of innovation happening in Africa. The challenge is obtaining the requisite funding and forging strategic partnerships with global leaders and distributors. This is where our focus is.”

The Badenhorst story: From waiter to world of finance

Despite his youth, Badenhorst has already accumulated considerable experience.

Prior to his current role, he was a project manager in Cape Town and played a crucial role in the expansion of Bootleggers, a successful coffee shop chain. He also ran and managed his own events business. All this while studying financial management at varsity.

But square eyes and piles of books were not for him.

Badenhorst paused his studies to go to Dubai where he took a bold step. He was not just going to get a menial job and live off bits and bobs. He sought out a plum stint at a top Dubai restaurant known as a hangout for global captains of industry, celebrities and sport stars.

This is where he started building his network. And that’s how he met Dunhill Ventures chairperson Piers Dunhill.

The two slowly built a relationship and one day, unexpectedly, Dunhill rang up Badenhorst and offered him a job. The rest is history. And Badenhorst is firmly in charge of his own narrative.

“My career strategy is made up of small, incremental goals,” he says. “I plan to remain with Dunhill learning all I can and building a robust network.”

His ultimate ambition is to leverage the experience and connections he gains at Dunhill to launch his own company in the next few years.

Dubai on track to become global hub

Badenhorst says his peers frustrate him at times. Many are unemployed or in jobs that are not careers, they’re just going through the motions.

“I often argue with friends and acquaintance about this because if you cannot break through in one market, go somewhere where you are able to. We live in a globalised world and Dubai is at its epicentre. It is rapidly becoming the global hub for finance, technology and other sectors.”

Living in Dubai or elsewhere to build a career does not have to mean ditching SA permanently.

For Badenhorst, career and country must be separated if opportunity can be found elsewhere.

“I love South Africa. This place will always be my home, and it is where I plan to retire and raise my children,” he said.

Even as Badenhorst expands his horizons on the global stage, his goal remains steadfast – to uplift Africa and its women, leveraging his success and extensive network to ensure that the continent and its inhabitants prosper.