Taddy Blecher

Dr. Taddy Blecher is a qualified actuary and globally recognized social entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to breaking the poverty cycle in South Africa through transformative and innovative educational models. As CEO and co-founder of the Maharishi Invincibility Institute (MII), an award-winning institution selected by Stanford University as one of the twelve most innovative higher education institutions in the world, Dr. Blecher has pioneered the free tertiary education movement in South Africa, helping to establish six free-access institutions of higher learning. His work has directly empowered over 25,480 previously unemployed South Africans with post-secondary education, with more than 22,500 securing employment — 70% of whom are women — generating estimated combined career earnings exceeding $5 billion. A champion of entrepreneurship and economic inclusion, Dr. Blecher co-founded the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship alongside Sir Richard Branson and chairs the national E3 initiative, which aims to embed entrepreneurship and employability skills into South Africa's school system, reaching up to 12 million learners. His extraordinary impact has earned him the prestigious Skoll Global Social Entrepreneur award, recognition as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and a place among the world's most influential entrepreneurs as named by renowned author Tom Peters.