Kasthuri Soni believes that potential should be met with opportunity. Raised in a working-class family in Durban, she credits her father, an artisan who placed a high value on education, discipline and practical experience, with shaping her outlook. Her advice - that while money can be taken, education cannot remains central to how she approaches work and life.Soni initially wanted to become a teacher but discovered accounting and qualified as a chartered accountant through Deloitte, where she spent 10 years in various leadership positions.Although she was on a path to partnership, she found herself increasingly drawn to work that offered a deeper sense of purpose.Her career shifted when she joined the Soul City Institute for Social Justice, initially as head of finance and later as chief executive. The move expanded her role from finance into organisation-wide leadership and reinforced her belief in the importance of adapting, learning and leading through change.Soni later joined Yellowwoods while Harambee was being incubated as a separate entity, initially serving as chief financial officer before becoming Harambee's chief executive in 2022.Today, she leads the organisation's strategy and operations, working with government, business, civil society, funders and millions of young people to expand pathways into earning, learning and self-employment.A central part of her work is SA Youth, which Harambee operates and manages as an anchor partner in the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention. The platform provides young people with free access to employment, learning and self-employment opportunities and has supported a network of more than 4.7 million young work-seekers and more than 3 500 employers, connecting more than 1.7 million young people to earning opportunities.For Soni, the young people remain the greatest motivation. She points to the story of Lindokuhle Skosana, who moved from aeronautical engineering to software development after financial constraints interrupted his university studies. Through SA Youth, he accessed courses and a coding bootcamp before becoming a software engineer.With more than 25 years of professional experience, Soni says her father's lessons continue to guide her: believe in yourself, then earn that belief through relentless effort. Her broader message is equally clear: talent is widely distributed but opportunity is not.