Dewandranath Kissoondoyal also known as Dave Kissoondoyal is currently employed as CEO for KMP Global Ltd. Holder of a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Technology, Mauritius and and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Surrey European Management School UK, Dave is an Associate Member of Chartered Management Institute, UK. Before his current employment at KMP Global Ltd, he was the Director and Head of Information Technology Department of Apolloblake Ltd, Intelenet Mauritius Ltd and Teleforma Mauritius Ltd respectively. He has been a board member and CTO for Bowman Group of Companies (1996-2005) and was seconded for duty in the Isle of Man, UK (1999-2001)
Dave Kissoondoyal has been one of the nominees for the Most Outstanding Young Person (AOYP) for the Republic of Mauritius for the years 1996 and 2003. The AOYP program of Jeune Chambre Economique de Maurice serves to recognize individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 who exemplify the best attributes of the young people of Mauritius.
Dave has been selected by the Board of Directors of the World Summit Award as the National Expert from Mauritius in the framework of the World Summit on the Information Society. He was selected from among the 489 Eminent Expert nominations from 136 countries from the leading governmental, industry and NGO institutions and associations in the field of e-content, multimedia, internet and ICT. He was an Editor of the Open Site Internet Encyclopedia. http://open-site.org/profiles/mauritian.html . He has been a featured member of the TakingItGlobal Community. http://www.takingitglobal.org/home.html?shell=fmviewfm&MemberID=41718.Dave is a member of the Development Gateway Community. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/um/showGeneralMemberProfile.do~userId=10001400 . He is also a member of the Digital Divide Network.http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/mauritius. He is a member of the Small Islands Developing States Network http://whoiswho.sidsnet.org/index.cfm?module=Members&page=Profile&UserID=1216.
Dave Kissoondoyal is a Member of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) (http://www.icann.org ) At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC). http://www.icann.org/en/committees/alac/kissoondoyal.htm ICANN’s ALAC is responsible for considering and providing advice on the activities of ICANN , as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users (the “At-Large” community). ICANN, as a private sector, non-profit corporation with technical management responsibilities for the Internet’s domain name and address system, relies on the ALAC and the broader At-Large community to involve and represent in ICANN a broad set of individual Internet user interests.
Dave has also been a member of the Non Commercial Users Constituency of ICANN.The Non-commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) is the home for civil society organizations in ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO). With real voting power in ICANN, it develops and supports Internet policies that favour non-commercial communication and activity on the Internet.
Dave is a Member of the Public Interest Registry .ORG Advisory Council. Public Interest Registry (www.pir.org) is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Internet Society to manage the .ORG domain. PIR’s mission is to manage the .ORG domain in an exemplary manner while educating and empowering the global non-commercial community to more effectively utilize the Internet. PIR is based in Reston, Virginia. PIR created the .ORG Worldwide Advisory Council in 2003 to focus solely on .ORG issues. It is made up of leaders from the broad spectrum of the non-commercial world. The Council serves as a key resource to the PIR Board and Staff to incorporate worldwide input on policies, strategies, programs, and services affecting the international non-commercial community.
Dave has been a member of the The African Stakeholders Network (ASN) of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. The ASN has been launched to ensure that United Nations-efforts to bridge the digital divide in Africa are better coordinated, more inclusive and reflective of the significant efforts already underway to develop an African information society. He has been a member of the following working groups of the UN ICT Task Force http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/user.pl?do=profile;id=2525.
- ICT Policy and Governance
- Enabling Environment
- Human Resource Development and Capacity Building
- ICT Indicators and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Mapping
Dave Kissoondoyal has ever been a member of the UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP) National Committee of Mauritius. Information for All (IFAP) is an intergovernmental Programme of UNESCO.http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ifap
UNESCO’s Information for All Programme provides a platform for international policy discussions and guidelines for action on:
- preservation of information and universal access to it;
- participation of all in the emerging global information society;
- ethical, legal and societal consequences of ICT developments.
The Information for All Programme provides a framework for international co-operation and international and regional partnerships. It supports the development of common strategies, methods and tools for building a just and free information society and for narrowing the gap between the information rich and the information poor. The Information for All Programme is a key element in the fulfillment of UNESCO’s mandate to contribute to “education for all”, to the “free exchange of ideas and knowledge” and to “increase the means of communication between peoples”.
When Dave Kissoondoyal returned to Mauritius after working two and a half years in the United Kingdom, he realised the lag Mauritius had in terms of Information and Communications Technology. Therefore he founded the Internet Society of Mauritius (http://www.isoc-mu.org) with the objective of promoting the Internet in Mauritius. He has been the President of the Society. The Internet Society of Mauritius was nominated in the E-Achievers Award 2002 and finalist of the ICT Achievers Award 2004 for the whole African Region.
Dave helped in drafting the Global Information Technology Readiness Report in 2001, initiative by the World Economic Forum and the Harvard University. He has been one of the Ambassadors of Internet Society for the World Summit on the Information Society. Dave has participated in various conferences, seminars and workshops related to the Internet such that the Internet Fiesta, OneWebDay, IETF, AfriNic, African Outsourcing Summit etc.
Dave Kissoondoyal’s childhood:
Dave’s youth was not an ordinary one since he comes from a poor family. His family did not have any property at all. His father was an attendant at the Civil Aviation Department. His mother was a cow rearer. His family was living in a rented house at Mare d’Albert. With the small income of his father and the revenue from milk, it was really difficult to send all the five children to School. However, with the help and comprehension of all the seven members of the family and the perseverance of the parents, all five children have been able to study till Cambridge Higher School Certificate. Dave, being the eldest son of the family had to wake up at 5:00 AM in the morning and go to fetch fodder for the cows before going to school. Dave’s father was allowed to do some plantation in a plot of state land within the Civil Aviation Department complex. So Dave had to go on weekends to work on the land at Plaisance Airport. He had to cycle from Mare d’Albert to Plaisance and on his return either bring wood, grass or tomatoes on his bicycle.
During his school holidays, Dave had to go and work in sugar cane fields to be able to earn some money to be able to buy new clothes and books. Dave only took private tuition for his Higher School Certificate exams. Though he was really shocked after the death of his father in April 1984 – since, being the eldest son, he would have to work, to care for his family, and continue schooling for his younger brothers – he passed the Higher School Certificate exams in November of the same year.
After leaving School, Dave had a very bad experience when he was thrown in the job market against his will since he always had the desire to study till university level. Dave made more than 300 applications for job but was never given one since he came from a poor family; he was not related to any influential personality.
Since, he did well in interviews and was not selected, he was informally recommended to have a backing from somebody influential. Dave wrote various letters to the Prime Minister in relation to interviews at Overseas Telecommunications Ltd as he was subject to injustice. Dave personally explained his situation after having granted an appointment with the Prime Minister, however this did not remedy his situation because the Prime Minister’s instruction was not followed to the letter since he was somebody that could be ignored. Dave addressed again to the Prime Minister where he mentioned that he agreed to what Mr Harish Boodhoo, the then Deputy Prime Minister, mentioned in his memorandum- that all the jobs at the Overseas Telecommunications Services were held by the relatives of Ministers and MLAs.
Dave remained unemployed for quite some time after leaving school. His first job was as a Clerk at Gaytree Textiles industries. Dave started working with a salary of Rs 1,200.
Now, he has taken the job of CEO at KMP Global Ltd. Dave climbed the ladder solely with his efforts and hard work.
He reached this position only because he is committed to his work and has been hard working throughout the years. Dave Kissoondoyal had received offer for employment from different companies both in Mauritius and overseas.
In 1990, he received an offer from the MBC for the post of Trainee Technical Operator, which a starting salary of Rs 2,550. He declined the offer since he though that it would not be better than the OTS, since he was not related to eminent personalities. He opted for the private sector and joined Blanche Birger Co. Ltd because he knew his capabilities and strives for learning as well.
In 1992 and 1993, Dave received the Merit Award Shield from Blanche Birger Co. Ltd for his exceptional work at Blanche Birger. He obtained encouraging letters from the Customers of Blanche Birger Co. Ltd, for example one from General Manager of the Status Information Technology Ltd in 1994 – “ We also wish to place on record Mr D. Kissoondoyal ‘s remarkable performance. He showed a high sense of responsibility and commitment which largely contributed to the success of the installation.”
In 1999, Dave Kissoondoyal received an offer for employment as Software Engineer from Mastech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The starting salary was $4533.33 (USD) plus benefits. Dave declined the offer since he wanted to serve his country first.
In 2000, Dave Kissoondoyal declined another offer. This time was from VocalTech in Cork, Ireland for the post of Telecommunications and IT Director. The Starting salary was £49,500 per annum plus benefits.
Dave has received encouraging remarks from the companies he has worked for:
“As Director of IT, and key member of senior management, Dave’s leadership was key to our success. Not only his technical prowess, but his leadership abilities contributed significantly to our success and in becoming the largest call center/BPO in Mauritius in less than two years. Dave possesses the key ingredients and balanced skills required as a leader, manager, and critical technician. As a member of the senior management team, Dave was chosen to act on my behalf as VP of Operations in my absence overseeing total operation and fiscal responsibilities of a 1000 employee company. Dave’s character, his management skills, and intelligence make him an outstanding leader in any organization.” – Mark Hill , VP, Global Operations , Teleforma (Mtius) Ltd, An Upstream LLC Company based at the Ebene Cybecity
Dave attended the Sookdeo Bissoondoyal State Secondary School of Rose Belle (SBSSSRB). For all the school years at SBSSSRB, he was the Executive Member of the School Council and elected Head Boy of the School in 1984. He was also an Executive Member of the “Amicale des Etudiants”, an Association of Students, which grouped all the “A” status Schools. While leaving the School, Dave received the following note from the Rector, Mr Zahur Maudarbocus:
“Mr Dewandranath Kissoondoyal is a very neat, quiet, well-mannered and serious young man of very good character. He has a very friendly personality and he gets on very well with people. Throughout his stay at this institution, he has been very hardworking, conscientious, regular and punctual. In fact he has scarcely even been absent from or late at school. Mr Kissoondoyal has also participated in a great variety of extra-curricular activities and has always been a credit to the School…He was even awarded a special prize for his good conduct and hard work during the Cultural exchange with with Lycee Roland Garros of Reunion Island. In 1984, Mr Kissoondoyal was elected the Head Boy of the School and he proved a very active Leader. I have always known Mr Kissoondoyal to seek, accept and shoulder responsibility and I have never had any cause for complaints. Moverover he is honest and loyal.”
- In 1979, obtained 1st Prize in the Essay Competition marking the anniversary of the Independence of Mauritius
- In 1980, took part in the Inter-College Quiz Competition organised by the Mauritius Institute of Education in collaboration with the MBC-TV.
- In 1981, obtained the 1st Prize in Essay Competition entitled “MY COUNTRY AND I”
- In 1982, Special Prize awarded for having come first in the School in Economics for the Cambridge School certificate Examinations after obtaining distinction in the subject.
- In 1983, took part in quiz competition organised by the Mauritius Family Planning Association and in the Lornho Award Competition. Also participated in the Cultural Exchange with Lycee Roland Garros of Reunion Island. Was awarded Special Prize for good conduct and hard work during the exchange.
- In 1984, elected Head Boy and took part in debate competition organised by the MSPCA. In July 1984, had various meetings with the Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Hon. Armoogum Parsuramen in relation to the Forum on White Paper of Education. He has studied up to Parichaye (Diploma) in Hindi Language and Sanskrit Balboth.
Dave was involved in Youth club and social activities at Mare d’Albert. Was one of the founders of the Celtic Youth Club of Mare d’Albert and has been in the Executive Committee for many years. Has also been a Member of the Rural Youth Movement of Mauritius (RYMOM). Followed course on First-Aid from the St John’s Ambulance and also obtained the Bronze Award of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Was one of the pioneers of the National Young Volunteers Scheme. In 1983, followed a course on Club Management and Leadership from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Dave Kissoondoyal has always been engaged in social and religious activities. From 2002 to 2004, he was an Executive Member of the Rose Belle North Government School PTA. He was the Secretary of the Mare d’Albert Community Health Centre. He was also the Secretary of the Geetanjali Sangeet Sangh of Mare d’Albert. This is an association with the objective of performing religious musical items in public gatherings. He was a member of the Arya Samaj of Mare d’Albert. He is a member of the Hindu Samelan Sabha of Union Park and the Union Park Arya Sanatan Dharmic Sabha. He attaches much importance on moral and religious values. He thinks purification of the self helps oneself to combat all obstacles and helps to lead a happy life. Due to his religious convictions, he has maintained strict discipline on his character and personality. Since childhood he always fasts on the first day of the week. He consumes only sweet food and fruits on Mondays.
To purify the society, he has organised Kathas for the public. As secretary, he performed the first katha for the village of Mare d’Albert between the 18th and 26th April 1987. When he moved to the village of Union Park, performed various other Kathas as Secretary of the Union Park Arya Sanatan Dharmic Sabha.
Dave Kissoondoyal has also studied Indian Philosophy, but unfortunately could not take the exams since he had to travel to the United Kingdom on his professional commitments. At some stage in time, he also started the Priest Course from the Mauritius Sanatan Dharma Temples Federation to acquire the religious knowledge. Dave is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and mentions that he will follow the same path as the Mahatma.
One of the main objectives of Dave Kissoondoyal is to work for the welfare of the community especially those that are vulnerable and who need help. In this respect, much effort was concentrated for the welfare of Children. Dave held various responsible posts at the Save the Children Mauritius. His stay at Save the Children was remarkable since he was fully engaged in the activities of the Association and held important posts such as Secretary, Treasurer and President. As a volunteer, he has been continuously struggling for the betterment of the Mauritian Child. He has operated at all levels, be in the advocacy level, influencing the policies, at the grass root level with the communities, in Emergency relief, Training, national and regional levels.
He was involved in various sensitization campaigns such as “Consolidation de la famille pour la protection et bien-etre des enfants” and on “ Early Childhood Development”. He was in the organisation of the salon de l’enfance. The aim of the salon was to take stock of the services offered by the Government and NGOs towards the welfare of children and secondly to sensitize the population on Children issues. He was also involved with counselling to children in distress.
As Secretary of the Save the Children Mauritius, he organised and participated actively in street exhibitions on Children’s Rights throughout the whole island. He has been actively propagating the Rights of the Child and promoting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. He participated in the preparation of a pamphlet “Conseil aux Parents”. He conducted a survey to collect children’s views on specific issues. He also launched the child oriented and leisure activities for Children at the Save the Children Centre at Vacoas. He organised various film shows for children in different regions
To safeguard a better future of the children, Dave Kissoondoyal is convinced that the community must be empowered. He launched various Community Development projects with the support of the local community. Examples are Creve Coeur, Chamarel and Baie de Tombeau. In Creve Coeur, a library was set up and medical screening done.
When Dave Kissoondoyal was the Treasurer of the Save the Children Mauritius, he was engaged in the setting up of the Eglantyne Jebb Training centre for disabled children and school dropouts. He organised the forum on “Adolescent et les parents” and the workshop leading to the Casela Declaration in connection to the World Summit on Social Development. He was also engaged in the joint collaboration between Save the Children Mauritius and the Jeune Chambre Economique de Beau Bassin – Rose Hill on the organisation of the Play and Leisure Day. He also initiated the setting up of a Leisure ground for disabled children at Vacoas.
Dave played an important role in drafting the alternate report on the Convention of the Rights of the Child submitted to the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child. Having followed the training of trainers course from the International Save the Children Alliance, he conducted a training course for NGOs and Government Officials on the 2nd and 3rd April 1996. Dave Kissoondoyal attended the World Congress on the Social Commercial Exploitation of Children in Stockholm, Sweden.
Dave had set up the Rodrigues Emergency Relief Operation to bring help to the people especially children of Rodrigues. Similarly he was behind the setting up of the Madagascar Relief Operation , Rwanda Relief Operation and Hollanda Relief Operation. He had set up a training Centre for school dropouts and disabled children at Rodrigues, including a library, medical check-ups for children and nutrition course for mothers.
Dave was an Executive Committee Member of the “Amicale des Etudiants”; he was the founder member of the Celtic Club of Mare d’Albert. He was a member of the Rural Youth Member of Mauritius. Dave followed various courses to help him in his social activities. He followed the First-Aid Course from the St. John’s Ambulance and the course on Club Management and Leadership from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. He has obtained the Bronze Award of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. He has also followed training on Leadership in Voluntary Social Work of the New De-addiction Centre Mauritius. He is also trained by the International Save the Children Alliance to train trainers on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In a letter dated 18th June 1985, the Minister of Youth and Sports of that time stated –“ Dewandranath Kissoondoyal..would seem to be the ideal type of the Mauritian Youth..”
As mentioned earlier, Dave Kissoondoyal’s life was not an easy one. Dave got married at the age of 25 to Miss Rameshwaree Ramlugon. After two and a half years of happy married life, his wife passed away leaving two daughters under his sole responsibility. However this did not prevent him in his urge for helping others as he continued with his responsibilities at the Save the Children Mauritius and his commitments at the religion level. Dave gave both maternal and paternal affection to his daughters for another four years before being married to Miss Devika Khulputeea. Dave is now leading a happy family life with his four daughters and one son.
Dave’s will to struggle in every spheres of life has contributed to his success and the message he gives to anybody is as follows:
“ There is always dawn after a dark night, one has to be patient. With patience, hard work and perseverance one can achieve the goal of his life.”
Dave Kissoondoyal’s urge for helping others without expecting anything in return has made him exercise in various fronts like in club and associations, in social activities and within religious framework.
To help in the promotion of Bhojpuri Language in Mauritius, Dave founded the Bhojpuri Speaking Union (BSU) and he is the President of the BSU. Dave has been awarded the Karmayogi Puraskar by the Vishwa Bhojpuri Samelan (International Bhojpuri Organisation) for his works in relation to the promotion of Bhojpuri in Mauritius
Dave’s willingness has also made him exercise in the political front as he wants to set an example in this field as well. He wants to be a model for the future generations. Dave Kissoondoyal believes much in the work done than building the political image through public exposure.
Dave political career starts when he left the position of President of the Save the Children to form the GROUPE DE REFLEXION d’EMMANUEL ANQUETIL (GREA) on the 23rd of November 1995.
Nine months later, i.e. on 23rd August 1996, he formed the Mouvement Republicain (MR) with Rama Valayden. He was one of the five founder members of the MR together with Rama Valayden, Sunil Dowarkasing, Nitin Sewduth and Gerard Louise.He was the treasurer of the MR at its creation.
Dave Kissoondoyal, for the first time stood at the Municipal Elections of October 1996 at Quatre Bornes in Ward 3 under the banner of the Mouvement Republicain. After Dave’s return from the United Kingdom, when he realized that the MR diverted from its original principles, he left the MR party in 2000 to join the MMM. He was then elected Secretary of the Regional No. 11. Now he is a member of the Central Committee and member of the Politburo of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) Political Party.
Dave was the runner-up in the legislative Assembly General Elections of May 2010 when he stood as candidate under the banner of the MMM in Constituency No. 11 (Rose Belle – Vieux Grand Port)
Dave’s journey does not end here. He is committed to help his country. He believes in “what you can give to the country rather than what the country can give you”
Dave Kissoondoyal is on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/dave.kissoondoyal ; on LinkedIn – http://mu.linkedin.com/in/mauritius and on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/dkissoondoyal
To Enter Internal Pages – Click Here