About Us

Overview

Forward Foundation was officially founded by brothers Le Roux and FC Conradie and is an amalgamation of 15 years of nation-building, social innovation, and a call to impact communities. All our programmes are centred and geared towards two distinct philosophies that direct our moral compass with dignity and respect - Education Through Movement and Moving Forward, Faster.

We combine sports and physical activities with several other innovative and key developmental programmes, including early childhood development (ECD), primary and high school programs, and young adult career path development.

Vision

A transformed, inclusive, and equitable South African society where every person has an equal opportunity to succeed in life is the vision we have for our beautiful country. Our belief in physical activity and its profound impact on the development of children is paramount to the personal formation of teenagers and young adults.

Mission

We offer various innovative socio-economic development services to children, youth, schools, organisations, and communities. Our programmes are designed to educate, enable, support, and inspire participants. Our mission is to implement a diligent, fair, and effective transformation process. Education Through Movement gets South Africa Moving Forward, Faster.

Our Team

Meet our team of go-getters, building the path to move forward faster.
Click on each team member’s photo to get to know us better.

Le Roux Conradie

Founding Partner And Managing Director

Mario Penwarden

Executive Head of Kinetix

Zhaun Booysen

Head of Rugby Division

Janovan Apollis

Head of Physical Education

Ricardo Booysen

Rugby Team Manager

Patrick van Wyk

Touch Rugby Head Coach and Conditioning Specialist

Armien Bailey

Head of Rugby Recruitment

Allison Collins

Rugby Team Manager

Curtis Gordon

General Manager

Our Team

Our Partners

Our Partners

Our partners play a critical role in our success.
Click on each partner’s logo to find out more about each of them.

Our Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors

Our ambassadors are public figures who are leaders in sport, culture, music, and beyond. They demonstrate leadership in their professions and serve as positive role models through their work and passions. Like us, they are committed to moving South Africa forward faster through strategically using their talent and voices to fundraise, advocate, and educate on behalf of South African youth.

Bottomless Coffee Band / RAAF

Husband and wife duo Lourens and Este’ Rabe’ are a multi-instrumentalist folk-rock band that composes and performs songs about sharing a fierce love for life, music, travelling, and coffee. Our partnership with RAAF is based on the inspirational power of music and advancing the Forward Foundation’s work through music and creative expression. RAAF’s song titled Moving Forward Faster spreads a message of hope for youth and inspires them to overcome their social struggles. Forward Foundation administers the much-needed funds raised by telling the story of this song to fuel various youth-focused projects on under-resourced communities in the Western Cape.

Bianca Enslin

Bianca obtained her BA in Marketing Communications at the AAA School of Advertising and owns a swimwear brand called She Succeeds. She managed to gain a position in the top five of the 2021 Miss South Africa pageant. Bianca is enthusiastic about helping youth to grow their skills and capabilities and to use every opportunity to stand up, speak up, and show up for their future.

Branco Du Preez

Branco is a utility back who retired as one of the South African national rugby sevens team, the Blitzboks’ most experienced player. Branco is considered a positive male role model in the sports industry and holds the title as the most capped SA sevens player. He is passionate about inspiring aspiring athletes to chase their dreams and believe in themselves - despite their circumstances. He has shown tremendous support towards Forward Foundation’s sports development programs and events, where he uses every opportunity to inspire, equip, and educate young players to work hard towards their rugby dreams.

Eloise Webb

Eloise forms part of the women’s SA seven’s team. She represented the Springbok Women's Sevens team at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in what can only be described as a ground-breaking year for women's rugby in our country. She is enthusiastic about inspiring young female rugby players to dream big and equip them with skills to enhance their capabilities and chances to play nationally and internationally. Eloise is a positive female role model in the sports industry and has shown tremendous support towards Forward Foundation‘s Women’s Rugby Clinics.

Mathrin Simmers

Mathrin is among the first female rugby players to get a professional contract in South Africa. She is a three-time World Cup Sevens player and captain of the South Africa Women’s Team. Mathrin aims to inspire young female rugby players to dream big and equip them with the skills to enhance their capabilities and chances to play nationally and internationally. She has shown tremendous support towards our Women’s Rugby Clinics.

Unemployment is one of the most important issues in South Africa at present and the Forward Foundation has found a way to begin to address this challenge. That is why they deserve our support.

Johan Fourie Professor of Economics at Stellenbosch University, Author of “Our Long Walk to Economic Freedom”

At Unitrans we recognize that it is a constitutional and economic imperative to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for all South Africans. As such we are committed to make a difference in the communities that we operate in. We have partnered with Forward Foundation who enables us to make a difference by providing early childhood development skills and resources as well as socio-economic development expertise.

- Unitrans

Most of us has got the potential but not all of us the opportunity and therefore we are very proud of what the Forward Foundation is doing. To be part of changing someone’s life forever through development, sport, learnership and leadership programs run by the Forward Foundation is really special especially looking back at all the success stories. We firmly believe that we all need to do our part in uplifting our community even if we could only make a difference in one person’s life.

- Bidvest McCarthy Toyota Paarl

Sport plays a big role in the development of our youth. Not only is it important for their physical health it also helps them with social interaction and teaches them various other disciplines. Forward Foundation plays a role in developing our youth, that is why we support Forward Foundation.

- Chill Beverages