Arifa Parker
BA Economics and Politics, LLB
Marketing Manager, Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Daughter of a shrewd but ethical businessman, born in Zanzibar, grew up in the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Mumbai India, completed her formal education at the University of Bombay and Mumbai – with a BA in Economics and Politics as well as an LLB in 1985.  The same year she qualified in Business Management. Later she completed TEFL courses in 4 languages, attained a Diploma Elementaire de la Langue Francaise at Alliance Francaise and a subsequent Marketing Management course in 2002 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town with additional training in Management Development at University of Stellenbosch in 2006.

Her career path has been varied but has provided the tools to conduct her present position at the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Arifa is a problem solver – in India she resolved marital and family disputes for which she was well qualified. After she arrived on these shores, she resolved the mysteries of communication by teaching French to pupils in Athlone at the local Alliance Français as well as at Cape Town School of Languages – and at one time teaching Parliamentary-English to Parliamentarians!  This period included attending various courses in Europe that promoted the use of French in our schools and she is fluent in 5 languages – French, English, Creole as well as Hindi and Urdu.

In 1999 she joined the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism where she was, inter alia, responsible for the Department’s Business Promotion Desk, an active problem solver (again) getting involved in many activities to promote business in the Western Cape and promoting partnerships with overseas market.

After a short break from work altogether she landed at the Cape Chamber in 2001 as Marketing Manager.  Arifa’s energy seems boundless as she not only facilitated the effective promotion of the Chamber’s membership promotion programme, managed a number of major events that have brought very positive recognition to the organisation but she has also increased the black membership of the organisation to an impressive degree.  A Chamber that was hitherto accused of being too male and too white cannot enjoy that reputation now as most events are attended by a fair mixture of black and white, male and female members networking effectively. Furthermore, with her knowledge and experience of the past, a sharp knowledge of loss and recovery through hard work, as well as an intrinsic understanding of the struggling entrepreneur – desperate to get a break, seemingly no-hopers have been raised from self-pity to successful players in the market because she took the time to show them the way without the use of patronisation or impatience.