The Social Capital Exchange is the brainchild of Cristianne Wendler and Jason Bygate, social entrepreneurs that were motivated by the need to disrupt the dysfunction and inefficiency that exists across many areas of the social economy.
Cristianne Wendler is a public health practitioner and development specialist with experience in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America and North America. Her development experience spans from the frontlines as a humanitarian relief worker in Haiti to a country director for a U.S. Government grant program funded by PEPFAR in South Africa.
Cristianne has spent time in roles ranging from direct service delivery, program development and project evaluation through to roles in management, on boards and as a trustee.
Her experience is coupled with a Master’s degree in Public Health, Bachelor’s degrees in International Relations and Political Science, a Bachelor’s certificate in African Studies and a professional qualification in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution.
Cristianne’s diverse education and experience coupled with her passion for the social sector have equipped her with unique knowledge and perspective about how the development sector functions and what is needed for a social economy to thrive.
Jason Bygate is an innovation and development specialist with over 15 years’ experience working in the social economy and a further 10 years in the ICT and logistics sectors. He has established and operated multiple social and technology ventures and worked with dozens of organisations and investors across South Africa and other African countries.
Jason has worked across various sector segments including healthcare, child services, youth development, sustainable livelihoods, food security, micro-finance, informal economy, renewable energies, and ICT for development. His project implementations have included deployments in multiple countries including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Namibia and Guatemala. He also serves on the board of HIV South Africa, Medibucks, Engage Empowerment Partnership, and on the development impact steering committee for the IDC.
Leveraging his strong ICT background, Jason provides the technological expertise behind the platform, combining his sector experience and Master’s degree in Social Policy and Development to ensure that the SoCapX technology meets the needs of the community to support social impact.