By Shruti Menon Seeboo
In a world increasingly focused on quick-fix solutions, the work of Djemillah Mourade-Peerbux stands out. A seventeen-year veteran of multimedia journalism in Mauritius, she traded the fast pace of news for the considered, human-centred approach of Design Thinking. As the founder of Wavemakers Africa, her mission is not merely to launch businesses, but to catalyse a profound shift in mindset, one changemaker at a time. Her journey is a testament to the power of translating deep human understanding—honed in the newsroom—into actionable, community-rooted social innovation across the continent.
From Newsroom Narratives to Human-Centred Design
Mourade-Peerbux’s transition from an established journalist to a design thinking pioneer was not a leap but a natural progression rooted in her passion for real-world issues. Her extensive experience provided the crucial foundation.
“I’ve spent 17 years as a multimedia journalist in Mauritius, working both for national TV in and a private radio station,” she begins, reflecting on her media career. “That journey really shaped how I see people, communities, and the issues that affect them. Journalism taught me to listen deeply and to understand that every challenge has multiple layers that are interconnected: social, economic, cultural, and political.”
This holistic understanding became the DNA of Wavemakers. She quickly realised that many traditional programmes missed a vital element: supporting the individual’s inherent capacity for change. The focus had to shift from purely commercial metrics to personal agency.
“When I created Wavemakers Social Innovation Labs, it was with the conviction that everyone has the power to create change, regardless of whether they identify as an entrepreneur or not,” Mourade-Peerbux explains. “Unlike many programmes that are heavily focused on business goals, Wavemakers is about supporting the individual journey. It’s about building confidence, equipping people with practical tools, and creating networks that allow people to translate their ideas into real impact.”
The resulting ecosystem is deliberately broad and inclusive, welcoming those who might feel excluded by rigid business models. The diversity of participants is intentional, reflecting her belief that innovation emerges from varied perspectives.
“That’s why our Skills Labs attracted such a diverse mix of changemakers. We welcomed advocates leading causes, artisans bringing hands-on creativity, weavers building communities, and catalysts driving innovation,” she details. “The point isn’t to fit into one mould; it’s to recognise that change can take many forms, from grassroots advocacy to bold ventures and that all of them are valuable.”
It was in this pursuit of a flexible, inclusive methodology that Design Thinking became the cornerstone of her organisation. Its intrinsic nature aligned perfectly with her mission to empower people from the ground up. “Design Thinking became the natural framework for this work because it is human-centred, iterative, and adaptable,” she concludes. “It gives participants a way to explore, test, and refine their ideas while staying rooted in the realities of their communities.”
Embracing the Pan-African Perspective
While Mauritius is often lauded as a strategic hub for African engagement, Mourade-Peerbux notes a deeply ingrained internal challenge: a disconnect from the wider continent. For her, Wavemakers was born from a desire to reverse this perspective, transforming the outward gaze into an inward, continental one.
“Mauritius is described as a gateway to Africa, but growing up there, I noticed that we don’t always see ourselves as African. That’s the reality of it. There’s a tendency to look outward, toward Europe, India, or Asia while overlooking the richness of the continent we are actually part of,” she observes candidly. “For me, founding Wavemakers was about flipping that lens. Instead of looking for eurocentric perspectives, I intentionally reach out to African expertise, bringing continental perspectives into our programmes.”
This deliberate pan-African approach is demonstrated through specific, meaningful collaborations. “This year, I ran a session with a Mandela fellow from Eswatini and in the past collaborated with partners in Madagascar for content for their workshops. And working with Mideva Labs was another step,” she states. “These experiences are part of a deliberate approach that shapes Wavemakers. We don’t simply import models; we co-create.”
The recent “DesignHer” project, a flagship partnership with MIDEVA Labs from Kenya, solidified this cross-border commitment. It provided concrete insights into the shared realities of women entrepreneurs across the continent.
“I saw DesignHer as an intentional step toward connecting with the continent and grounding our work in African realities,” she reflects. “Working with MIDEVA made that intentional step real. They brought with them not just expertise in human-centred design, but also a way of working that was very rooted in the Kenyan context that is deeply community-oriented.”
Despite geographical differences, the challenges faced by women are structurally similar. “There are so many shared challenges: access to finance, balancing entrepreneurship with family responsibilities, and breaking through gendered expectations,” Mourade-Peerbux affirms. “Women’s struggles across Africa are connected. They all face systemic issues. This partnership also reinforced the idea that solutions cannot be imported, they have to be tailored to context.”
This conviction drives the very ethos of Wavemakers: innovation by Africans, for Africans. “By intentionally building these pan-African connections, I believe we are changing the narrative showing that African changemakers can learn from, support, and grow with one another, creating solutions that are truly by Africans, for Africans,” she says. “For me personally, it reinforced the conviction that the future of innovation in Africa lies in Africans working together, across borders, and that Mauritius has so much to gain by embracing its place within this larger African story.”
The Challenge of Context: Funding and African Ingenuity
In expanding Wavemakers’ mission, Mourade-Peerbux has noted a powerful connective tissue among changemakers across Africa, which she terms African ingenuity: the ability to create under severe resource constraints.
“The shared context connects changemakers across Africa & Mauritius,” she notes. “One of the things I’ve observed is the common understanding of specific dynamics that aren’t always visible in eurocentric models. For example, in Mauritius, many women entrepreneurs often have to rely on small networks and personal ingenuity to get their ideas off the ground. A reality that can be echoed across the continent. But across all these contexts, the common thread is creativity under constraint and the ability to leverage local systems and social structures in ways that outsiders might not immediately understand, what I like to call African ingenuity.”
Yet, this ingenuity is frequently hampered by systemic barriers, with access to appropriate funding being the most pervasive. “At the same time, one of the biggest challenges I see everywhere is access to funding. Whether in Mauritius, Kenya, Madagascar, or Eswatini, changemakers have brilliant ideas but often lack the financial support to bring them to scale,” Mourade-Peerbux states plainly.
She highlights how rigid, external funding structures often fail to account for the crucial, context-specific needs that determine success or failure for women and young entrepreneurs.
“Too often, funding models are shaped by external priorities rather than local realities, and this creates additional barriers for women and young entrepreneurs who are already navigating systemic inequalities,” she argues. “For instance, some things that are absolutely crucial for success in our context like childcare, transport, or simply being able to bring children into a safe workshop space are rarely considered in traditional funding frameworks.”
Wavemakers addresses this directly, integrating solutions into the programme design itself. “When we ran our DesignHer program, it was intentional that women could bring their children along, because otherwise many would have been excluded. We provided a professional child care service. We partnered with an organisation that provided transport for their participants,” she explains. “These are the kinds of context-specific needs that rarely get funded but make the difference between participation and exclusion. This diversity of context has reinforced for me that one-size-fits-all solutions don’t work.”
It is within these systemic gaps that Design Thinking proves most effective for empowering women. “Design Thinking gives women permission to reframe challenges in ways that highlight their resourcefulness rather than their limitations,” Mourade-Peerbux insists. “Women are able to articulate their lived realities as valuable insights rather than obstacles.”
By using practical tools like ecosystem mapping, women can visualise and leverage local, community-based assets, shifting their focus away from limitations. “This shift is powerful because it allows women to see that even if they don’t have direct access to funding or formal support, they can still leverage local networks, partnerships, and community assets to move their ideas forward,” she adds.
The process itself fosters solidarity and agency. “When women come together in these sessions, they validate each other’s experiences and begin to see their challenges not as personal failings but as systemic issues that can be addressed creatively and collectively,” she says. “Design Thinking shifts the narrative: instead of ‘this is a problem that excludes me,’ it becomes ‘this is a context I can design for.’ That mindset is incredibly powerful in breaking cycles of exclusion and helping women see themselves as capable innovators.”
The foundation for this extended reach and impact across the continent was significantly amplified by her involvement in U.S. government exchange programmes. “The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the Professional Development Fellowship, and the Reciprocal Exchange programme were transformative in ways that went far beyond the formal training,” she reveals. “These experiences exposed me to global best practices in leadership and innovation, but more importantly, they gave me access to a network of African changemakers who share similar challenges, aspirations, and cultural contexts.”
The partnerships with the U.S. Embassy and the power of the peer network created a vital snowball effect. “The partnerships with the U.S. Embassy amplified this impact by providing access to resources, mentorship, and visibility that helped scale Wavemakers beyond Mauritius,” she notes. “What started with The Ecopreneur Launch Camp in partnership with Seedspot snowballed into a much bigger journey. I went on to create Wavemakers, which has since designed and delivered five different programmes with partners such as SME Mauritius, Afritech, and Trampoline and supported by agencies like the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council.”
The peer-to-peer relationships, like collaborating with a fellow from Eswatini, were essential. “Each collaboration within the network inspired new initiatives, reinforced shared learning, and widened Wavemakers’ pan-African footprint,” she concludes. “Together, these institutional and peer-led opportunities reinforced the idea that Wavemakers is not just a Mauritian initiative but a continental platform for amplifying African-led ingenuity.”
The Future: Curiosity, Digital Scale, and the ‘Unstoppable’ Blueprint
Mourade-Peerbux’s recent move to the UK and her new role as a Fundraising & Awareness Manager have instigated a necessary pivot for Wavemakers, shifting the focus from hands-on, local workshops to scalable digital offerings. This transition has demanded a creative approach to maintaining the personal, transformative feel of the original programmes.
“Moving to the UK has been a pivotal moment for me and for Wavemakers. Being in a different environment has pushed me to rethink how we operate,” she shares. “In Mauritius, much of our work was in-person and deeply relational, relying on hands-on workshops and small cohorts. In the UK, I’ve had the opportunity to see how digital tools can expand reach without losing the personal, transformative nature of our programmes. It has encouraged me to think bigger, to design Wavemakers offerings that can impact changemakers everywhere and I am hoping to launch online programmes in 2026.”
Her new professional role, focusing on audience engagement and sensitive communication within the Domestic and Sexual Abuse sector, has refined her approach to digital marketing and content design. “My role as Fundraising & Awareness Manager, working in Domestic and Sexual Abuse, has sharpened my focus on audience engagement, value proposition, and clear messaging,” she explains. “In this role, I’ve often had to get creative with new projects, finding innovative ways to communicate sensitive issues, reach diverse audiences, and sustain their engagement.”
This focus on internal reflection led to the creation of a new spin-off, Wonderkind, centred on a singular, powerful concept. “A big part of Wavemakers has always been about helping changemakers develop the kind of self-understanding that builds confidence, decision-making ability, and ultimately, self-efficacy,” she says. “Through this work, I realised that curiosity is the key: curiosity about ourselves, our motivations, our strengths, and our triggers but also about the ecosystems around us. When people truly understand themselves, they are better equipped to navigate challenges, take bold actions, and create meaningful impact in their communities.”
“It inspired me to create Wonderkind, a spin-off that builds on Wavemakers’ foundations but focuses explicitly on curiosity as the starting point for growth,” she continues. “With Wonderkind, I help individuals of all ages explore what drives them, understand their uniqueness, and use this insight to create a better, more connected world. My approach is simple but powerful: curiosity first.”
This personal evolution directly informs the new digital products, such as the “Unstuck and Unstoppable” mini workbook, which is designed to empower women to change careers or launch new projects. Her own experience of navigating a new country and a demanding role became the blueprint for the workbook’s content.
“My personal transition to the UK, navigating a new culture, taking on a demanding full-time role, and simultaneously nurturing Wavemakers, has deeply influenced the content of the Unstuck and Unstoppable workbook,” Mourade-Peerbux admits. “It’s a lived reminder that reinvention is possible at any stage, even when the path feels uncertain. The workbook is rooted in my own journey of embracing discomfort, rediscovering my strengths, and channeling curiosity into new opportunities.”
The goal is to move women from dreaming to action by helping them recognise their inherent skills. “I wanted women to have practical tools that encourage them to take bold steps, even when resources or clarity feel limited,” she says. “I wanted women to see that they already carry transferable skills from their personal and professional journeys, even if they don’t always recognise them as such. Unstuck and Unstoppable is about helping them surface those strengths and begin the scaffolding work step by step to design their own blueprint for change. It’s not just about dreaming; it’s about building the confidence and structure to make those dreams actionable.”
The challenge of digital delivery is intimacy, which she counters with careful design. “Moving from in-person sessions to online delivery has been both liberating and challenging,” she explains. “The benefit is clear: the reach is far greater. I can connect with women across continents in ways that were impossible before, building communities of learning and support that transcend geography. The challenge, of course, is maintaining the intimacy and trust that naturally develops in face-to-face interactions. To address this, I design sessions that are reflective rather than purely instructional. I am currently focusing on 1 to 1 but I am designing an online programme for next year. The key is to prioritise connection over content overload.”
Ultimately, the success of Wavemakers Africa is not measured by spreadsheets, but by the subtle, yet powerful, transformation of the individual—the ultimate ripple effect.
“For me, success isn’t just in the numbers, it’s in the ripple effect. Of course, we celebrate participation and projects that are launched, but the real measure is the shift in mindset and the long-term impact on communities,” Mourade-Peerbux concludes. “When a participant realises she has the agency to design her own solution, whether that’s a new enterprise, a community initiative, or even just a personal breakthrough, that’s success. Over time, the collective impact becomes visible. But for me, success also lies in the sustainability of Wavemakers Africa itself: in building lasting programmes, creating new cohorts of empowered changemakers, and nurturing a community that continues to grow and support one another. Wavemakers is about sparking those individual transformations that, when multiplied, create lasting systemic change.”
