• Bachelor of Commerce – University of Fort Hare
• Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in Accounting – University of South Africa
• Chartered Accountant (CA) SA Qualification – Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB)

Sizwe Nxasana began his career at Unilever before founding Sizwe & Co. in 1989, the first black-owned audit practice in KwaZulu-Natal. In 1996, he became a founding partner of Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba, now known as Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo (SNG-Grant Thornton), the fifth-largest audit firm in South Africa.

In 1998, Sizwe joined Telkom SA as Chief Executive Officer, where he led the company’s listing on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He later served as CEO of FirstRand Banking Group from 2005 until his retirement in September 2015.

Sizwe serves as chairman of various foundations and trusts. He is the co-founder and chairman of the National Education Collaboration Trust and the founder and chairman of the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP), which funds and supports students from disadvantaged and “missing middle” backgrounds.

Now a social entrepreneur, Sizwe founded Future Nation Schools, a network of affordable private schools in South Africa, as well as the Sifiso Learning Group, which operates in EdTech, academic publishing, and real estate.

Sizwe has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Fort Hare, Durban University of Technology, University of Johannesburg, and Walter Sisulu University.