Being a woman of colour from a previously marginalised community is a challenge I am all too familiar with.

As vice-president for legal solutions at Exigent, Naomi Thompson is responsible for executing the growth strategy and expanding the company’s footprint across South Africa and Africa. She is responsible for driving change and educating people in the legal industry to bridge the gap between legal and business. She does this by participating in many industry forums, among other things.

The Ndoto foundation is her way of giving back. “Ndoto Foundation’s mission is aimed at unlocking access to education by breaking down the barriers of funding that are often disproportionately placed on international students. The vision of the Ndoto Foundation is aimed at developing global leaders to educate and develop academically qualified yet economically disadvantaged young people in Africa who will contribute to the transformation of the continent’s knowledge and leadership skills,” she says.

Thompson is also an advisory board member for the Tsosoloso Educational Programme, a start-up non-profit organisation that advances learning in South Africa. Its mission is to promote reading, improve literacy and implement technology-driven solutions that advance teaching in underserved communities. “I assist the department of higher education with their orientation programme by preparing the scholarship recipient students for their new journey in a foreign country,” explains Thompson.

“Being a woman of colour from a previously marginalised community is a challenge I am all too familiar with. My parents were not in a financial position to fund my undergraduate studies and of the means to allow me to go to university,” she says. She was the first in her family of seven siblings to obtain a degree.

Her career highlights include graduating from law school and being admitted to the High Court of South Africa as an attorney. After 10 years as a corporate in-house lawyer, she became chief of staff for a pan-African investment company. Naomi is passionate about the digital transformation of the legal profession and is a champion for innovation, process improvement, and technology. Supporting entrepreneurship is one of the reasons she agreed to be a non-executive board member of a purpose-driven agency, NONZēRO, with the mission of helping South African entrepreneurs reach international heights.

— Welcome Lishivha

Instagram: @thompson_n77