Who we are
Meet The Founder
“Cognitive Paths flows out of my innate passion for entrepreneurship, community development, and supporting young people. In retrospect, the vision came about through a course of no small events in my life which I consider as stepping stones. It is my privilege to share my story and our team accomplishments in this report.
I had decided to seek new opportunities in the U.K. in my earnest desire to progress, learn and to develop. Prior to coming to the UK, I was a student at the University of South Africa, Practical School of Philosophy and the Kara Institute. I worked as a telesales representative and a primary school sports coach in between my academic and personal development lessons. I felt I was stagnating and not progressing at work, so I took on more responsibilities in training new staff to improve their sales target and increase the level of competitiveness, meanwhile I focused
on improving the athletic performance of young people through sports. Once I had saved up sufficient funds and seen the school sports achievement improve, I relocated to the U.K. Upon my arrival on British soil, I faced unprecedented challenges. I struggled to obtain decent work and could not decipher the accents of the land. I attempted factory work in the evenings and gradually looked for sales roles which would allow me to travel and thereby learn more about the U.K. My passion for people allowed me to be mentored, to be coached, and to be inspired by sales and people-management gurus. This shaped my experiences and aspirations as I set up offices in various locations in the U.K, from training sales representatives to managing large teams for residential and telephone campaigns. Unfortunately, after my visa expired, I felt terrified to seek support. I became ‘undocumented’. This vulnerable and uncertain period of my life brought about new challenges, and a new learning curve with fresh perspectives. Eventually, I grew in confidence and managed to resolve my immigration status, and the rest is history.
I was spurred to initiate Cognitive Paths with the purpose of establishing a common ground between people, community organisations, and businesses. My work is consistently about inspiring positive thinking in young people, marginalised communities and entrepreneurs. I am so proud of what we have achieved so far through the projects we’ve run and been involved in, and I’m excited to share the impact we’ve had over the last few years.”
Sibusiso Tshabalala, Director and Founder of Cognitive Paths

Sibusiso Tshabalala, Founder and Managing Director
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Meet the Team
At Cognitive Paths we provide clients with solution-oriented frameworks which will be effective now and for years to come. Our team works with autonomy, insight, and purpose, to co-design projects which we can all be proud of. We believe in striking the right balance between quality, price, and collective impact. Our work instils optimism that inspires society and businesses to act as one.

Sibusiso Tshabalala
Managing Director
“The pursuit of excellence through self-regulated learning is a constructive process that leads to setting your own monitoring, control, cognition, motivation, and behaviour. Let your everyday discipline be your guide to achieving your worthy ideals.”

Steve Fintlay
Director
“It’s an exciting time to be involved in Cognitive Paths, which has grown and progressed a lot over its relatively short existence. We will continue to strive to provide a positive hub for projects looking to make an impact of their own.”

Herman
Director
Herman has built a foundation behind R.O.O.T.S (Return of Our True Selves). Herman was a managing director for a 24-hour tradesman call out, a company in London. He has chosen to channel his experience to youth development through sports and natural products.

Rick Thompson
Technical Assistance and Photographer
Rick is a multi disciplined artist, with a good knowledge base in photography, has customer service experience and a wide range of IT skills. He Studied drawing and print making at uwe,and achieved BA with honours, and is currently studying for a masters in photography.

Naomi Reid
Lead Sports Coach
Naomi is a UEFA B football coach, who has been coaching boys and girls of all ages for a number of years in the central area of Bristol. She is currently a coach at a local junior grassroots football club called Bristol Central YFC. “For any sporting session the aim is to provide a provision for young people to be active and be in a safe environment”.

Donovan Shandy
Fitness and Performance coach
Donovan has been coaching for 15 years, he started his coaching journey with Full circle helping, out with the 16s when he was 20yrs of age. He fell in love with coaching and working with young people from his local community to reach success together. “My dream is to continue working with local young people and help them reach their full potential.”

Abdi Salam Askar
Mentor and Support Coach
Abdi is a senior stress engineer for Safran Seats GB. He graduated from Cardiff University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Structures
in 2000. He is also a level 1 football coach. “I use the football platform to give hope and motivation to the youngsters to show them the possibility of a better future.”

Marta Celio
Lead Designer, Project Lead BHM
Marta is a multidisciplinary concept-led graphic designer. In her work she aims to question the current social dynamics and celebrate culture, communicating complex ideas in a more accessible form. Often drawing inspiration from critical theory and pop culture, she is interested in analysing and commenting on the current social discourse to bring about social change.