Own Correspondent
For a brief moment, time stood still. As her name echoed across the awards venue announcing her as the winner of the Female Entrepreneur of the Year South Africa–Zimbabwe Award, years of sacrifice, struggle, faith, and perseverance came flooding back in an instant.
The applause was deafening, the lights bright, and cameras flashing — but her mind travelled far away from the glamour of the evening — and to the village — to her childhood.
Back to a widowed mother selling vegetables to survive. “My first thought was my mother,” she said emotionally after receiving the award. “Deep inside I just wanted to say, ‘Mama, I made it.’”
Behind the elegance of the awards night lies a deeply African story of resilience — a story not born in boardrooms or privilege, but in survival, faith, and relentless hard work.
Long before she became a respected entrepreneur in accounting and real estate, she was a little girl selling vegetables in the village alongside her mother.
“I learned how to count money before I properly learned how to count numbers in school,” she recalled with a smile. Those early years shaped the foundation of the woman she would later become.
“My mother taught me faith in God, hard work, and persistence. Everything I am today was built on those lessons.” After qualifying as a professional accountant and completing her articles and board examinations, she made a bold decision that would define her future — entrepreneurship instead of employment.
In 2011, she founded her accounting firm. Nearly a decade later, in 2020, she expanded into the real estate sector, steadily building businesses across borders in Southern Africa. But the journey was far from glamorous. “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted,” she said candidly.
“There were many moments I felt like giving up.” Like countless entrepreneurs, she battled marketing pressures, cash-flow challenges, sales uncertainty, and the constant struggle of finding reliable employees. The price of building something meaningful often demanded long hours and personal sacrifice.
“I work extremely long hours, often six or seven days a week. Apart from church and prayer time, much of my life has been dedicated to building the vision.”
Yet even in moments of exhaustion and doubt, she refused to surrender. “Hard work and persistence are still undefeated,” she said firmly. “People look for shortcuts, but consistency remains one of the greatest advantages in life.”
As a female entrepreneur operating in competitive industries, she says women still face unique obstacles many people fail to recognise.
“Women are expected to succeed in business while also carrying enormous family and home responsibilities,” she explained. “Many women are building businesses while carrying emotional and caregiving burdens that people rarely see.”
She also spoke openly about being underestimated because she is a woman, Black, and sometimes perceived as an outsider. “Sometimes people quietly expect you to underdeliver before you have even spoken,” she said. “But eventually you stop trying to convince people with words and let your results speak for you.”
For her, the award is bigger than personal achievement. It represents possibility for women across Africa. “It proves that women are not just participating in business — they are leading, innovating, and succeeding at the highest levels.”
Receiving a South Africa–Zimbabwe award carries special significance for her. “It reminds me that opportunities are not confined by borders,” she said. “Africans must work together, trade together, and fight poverty together.”
Despite the growing recognition, she remains deeply grounded in her Christian faith, which she says guides both her leadership and business decisions. “With God, nothing is impossible,” she said. “God blesses the work of our hands.”
Now, her vision stretches far beyond awards and recognition. She dreams of expanding her businesses across multiple countries while helping others rise alongside her.
