On this episode, I sat down with Public Policy & Development Advisor, Mbali Motsoeneng to chat about the importance of building authentic networking skills to advance in your career. Mbali shares how building a solid network of connections has helped her traverse various roles in different industries throughout her expansive career. She considers networking to be a strategic tool for both personal and professional development and believes that one can strike a balance between building authentic connections and deriving value from those connections for your advancement.  Mbali is a public policy and development professional, with work experience in government, private sector, and international development organisations. Her areas of work have spanned from public financial management in Africa, public healthcare advisory in municipalities and globally, digital literacy, climate resilience in Africa and establishing public-private partnerships for public good. She holds a Master of Management from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Currently she is abroad pursuing a Master of Public Policy at Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a semester exchange in the Master of Transnational Governance in Florence.