Karabo Dube is a South African entrepreneur with a knack for delivering tailor-made solutions. His experience in business consulting, property development, mining and advisory services nurtured an acumen for value creation and preservation. In 2012, Karabo shifted focus from growing his business towards achieving significance and impact, assembling a talented team to work directly with traditional communities. Over the next seven years they corporatised billions in community assets and launched comprehensive development plans. This expertise was then packaged as a toolkit for capacitating and empowering rural communities at home and elsewhere in Africa.

While the work of corporatisation and planning proved successful, there were limitations to what could be achieved. The need for accelerated rural transformation and a holistic development agenda was clear. In 2019, in partnership with the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL), the InvestRural initiative was borne. To guide this process, Karabo oversaw the development of the InvestRural Master Plan, which sets out a framework for rural development nation-wide. This Plan was launched in early 2021 and embraced by President Ramaphosa, Absa Bank, foundations and traditional leaders.