Taddy Blecher is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Maharishi Invincibility Institute, a multi-award-winning South African skills-to-work educational institution. Growing up in a poor family, education allowed Blecher to succeed, fuelling his passion to help unemployed youth in South Africa gain access to transferable skills through education, training, jobs, and careers, thereby breaking the poverty cycle. He works to support highly marginalised groups, including women, refugees, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

As a direct result of his work, 24,000 unemployed South Africans have received
post-secondary education, and over 21,000 of them found meaningful employment. These youth - 70% of whom are women - now have combined salaries exceeding R1.715 billion a year and expected lifetime earnings of R59.7 billion. He has also helped educate over 600,000 young South Africans with one-week education and life-skills training courses through the Nelson Mandela Extranet programme.

Blecher spearheads transformative projects such as the E3 programme with the
national Department of Basic Education in South Africa, which promotes project-based learning and essential skills development among school leavers. Additionally, the TeacherConnect platform revolutionises teacher training and
support, reaching educators nationwide and significantly improving education quality and accessibility.

Recognising the hidden costs associated with free education, Blecher has devised ingenious solutions such as the Learn & Earn and Pay It Forward programmes. These initiatives enable students to gain valuable work experience while studying, contributing to the education of future generations and breaking the cycle of poverty and dependency.

Blecher is now creating Africa's first education capital in Johannesburg. This
ambitious endeavour aims to create a vibrant educational hub akin to renowned
institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, fostering innovation and collaboration on a grand scale for the world’s largest youth population, but in an inclusive manner
advancing and advocating a universal right to access quality education. Through
strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts, existing structures are transformed into vibrant hubs for education, art, sports, and residences.

Blecher’s work on education and youth employment has been profiled in over 65
published books. He was named by author Tom Peters in Inc. magazine as one of his top five most influential entrepreneurs in the world over the last 30 years.