Education for all: Foster-Pedley joins SOIL

Jon Foster-Pedley, business activist, and dean and director of Henley Business School Africa, has been appointed to the Board of Advisors of the School of Integrated learning (SOIL), the flagship higher education initiative of India-based non-profit organisation, Himalaya’s Valley Education and Charitable Trust.

The appointment signifies a powerful collaboration between two institutions dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable future through education.

SOIL is renowned for breaking down barriers for talented individuals from marginalised South Asian communities, giving them a shot at a world-class, internationally-accredited education, while Henley Business School is creating waves in the South African education landscape by seeking to create a workplace skills revolution by broadening access to relevant, quality education for working South Africans.

‘Jon is an inspiration for future leaders,’ says SOIL chair, Aalok Pratap Narayan Singh. ‘His remarkable ability to drive meaningful change is commendable and his presence on the Board will significantly bolster our efforts to create a better and more sustainable world.’

Under Foster-Pedley's guidance, the Trust aims to develop a comprehensive sustainable development programme and mechanism that strengthens its vision of empowering underprivileged communities, with a particular focus on SOIL’s Centre for Agriculture, Policy, and Rural Development.

With decades of expertise in higher education leadership and a deep commitment to social equity, Foster-Pedley is a passionate advocate for African communities, and his approach at the helm of Henley Business School Africa has seen him focus on creating practical solutions in areas including ethical leadership, sustainability, and business activism.

‘Henley Africa is a top international business school with deep roots in its local context,’ says Foster-Pedley. ‘I’m extremely proud of the fact that we’ve grown from a small team graduating just 30 MBAs out of Johannesburg each year 30 years ago to a thriving 100-plus team graduating more than 2,000 students a year across a suite of programmes from post-matric, work-readiness level to the newly introduced Doctor of Business Education (DBA). We’ve done all of this without traditional university subsidies.’

Foster-Pedley says that while business schools in emerging markets must continue to maintain high standards and build business acumen, they need equally to prioritise accessible education for the undereducated, empowering them to build businesses and transform their lives.

‘Education should be elite without being elitist, and world-class education must be about helping people escape the poverty trap because skills – not wealth – are the ultimate freedom,’ says Foster-Pedley, who is also the chair of Henley MBAid, a social outreach programme, and the founder of #CorporateActivism, a movement highlighting the disastrous effects corruption and state capture in South Africa have on economic development, human rights and on individual careers, reputation and credibility.

‘Success in life is linked to education, and we need a revolution in how we think about education and training to ensure that young people from impoverished communities across the globe can make headway in a complexifying world,’ says Foster-Pedley.