It had six big rooms, a kitchen, lounge and a pool. Mahanyele’s mother … He wanted her to study economics, but she wanted to be a ballerina. One thing she is afraid of though is the future of education in Africa. If social entrepreneurship is about someone who is adamant to create a social change, and move the human race, then I’m absolutely that person.”. Her parents were committed to giving her and her sister the best education possible with the expectation for them to work in a commercial environment. Those with money – and ideas – are taking advantage of the opportunity. He grew up in a four-room house in the township with 12 siblings. We went there to see if it’s possible to take inspiration that would work in South Africa.”. ? People here had a different way of doing things. Brewer is just the spark that was needed in the dark. She quickly realized it was time to move on. She is now focusing on growing the school network with hopes to double the number of schools they currently have in the next five years. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla. He had even worked out which companies I should work for,” she says. They enrolled 160 children within the first year. Her father, who died in 2012, grew up in a family of “10 or 11 siblings” and had to pay for his own schooling. To properly arm herself with enough tools to disrupt the world of business, she swapped her high-paying job for a less-paying position in advertising. Mohale knew hardship. “We opened it up in 2014, but we had originally planned to open it up in 2015. At the helm of Shanduka, she managed the group’s multi-million dollar investments in South Africa and on the rest of the continent including in energy in Mozambique, and telecom in Nigeria. She hasn’t wasted it one bit. It steeled her for a future in the cold, dark world of business. Image Attribution: Destinyconnect.com/Phuti Mahanyele. These cookies do not store any personal information. I think it was a time when people were just trying to fill the numbers to say they have a black female employee except I had zero to do. I was shocked but quickly realized everyone came at 8AM and left at 5PM.”. “You could never really achieve anything without it being attributed to your father,” she says. If this prediction is true, it means investors could pocket between $16 billion to $18 billion over the next five years. There she secured major deals including with Coca-Cola and McDonalds. But the board is not in a hurry to see the back of her. Mahanyele dedicated seven years to the firm. In 2019, Phuti Mahanyele Dabengwa made history when she was appointed as Naspers CEO for South Africa. They needed to raise R4.5 million ($340,000) to start a school. It was only when the first person said yes, and put in money that we felt better. Phuti Mahanyele, Class of 1993, is passionate about working in investment banking and has become one of the most respected figures in the corporate world as Chief Executive Officer of Shanduka Group Ltd., a multi billion-dollar blue-chip company in South Africa.Named one of “South Africa’s Most Influential Women” last year, she was listed on the Wall Street Journal’s “Top 50 Women … But my parents … She assumed that her team was demotivated and had many of them in disciplinary hearings. “They were not looking for anyone and they had never had a black person from the African continent apply for a job so it was a bit weird. We deliver education on a high note and get our kids ready for what the future may hold,” she says. (This article from our archives was first published on 16 March 2015.) It wasn’t long before she was recruited by South Africa’s current President Cyril Ramaphosa as the head of the energy division of his then business, Shanduka Group. Today, there are 15 SPARKS schools around the country. I’ve always been someone who wants to create change and I don’t wait on other people. At the time of his death in 2012, Mohale was one of South Africa’s most successful businessmen who served on many boards. "It was (due to) a mix of old age and illness," Mahanyele's daughter Phuti said. He was not afraid to expose us to things he wanted us to achieve. A complete irony that just as the words ‘women power’ are mentioned in the room, the power goes off. They tried to raise funds but doors were being shut everywhere they went. In 2015, after a decade of service, she left the company after making bold moves boosting the company’s profits. Right from Grade R, the children are rotating like in a high school and go to their special subject teachers for particular subjects. Here, they mixed traditional classroom learning with computer learning. Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa: NASPERS LIMITED. A few years before this venture, the long hours almost cost her her life. “I had a title, a lovely office and everything but there was no work. I just thought that it’s completely unacceptable and it just makes no sense and that’s when I did my thesis on it,” she says. Caerus Capital LLC, an investment and advisory firm that focuses on healthcare and education businesses in emerging markets, says 25 million children are expected to join private institutions in the next five years. She was born in 1971 in Dobsonville, Soweto, South Africa. Her father: a pioneer for the improvement of black education. But at the age of 39, she quit her medical career and went back to school. Phuti Malabie. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. It’s clear that this bright star is still adding to her net worth, rising, inspiring and disrupting business. We weren’t seeing a lot of young black women. “What I didn’t realize was that the problem was with me because I hadn’t looked at the environment to realize the culture here was that people did what they needed to do at the time.”. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. At age 17, Phuti left Soweto to attend the Douglass College, United States (part of Rutgers University). I was so confident that I took it to myself that since he won’t talk to my dad, I would speak to him. It came with a small stipend, long hours and no benefits. She has had an interesting life beyond her career in finance. It takes about six months for them to fully get used to the teaching system. All they had was a dream to open a network of schools which would disrupt South Africa’s education economy. Her father, who died in 2012, grew up in a family of "10 or 11 siblings" and had to pay for his own schooling. On this day, just before the photoshoot, they are quivering in the cold, dark studio, defiantly relating separate stories about their successes, but united in their quest for excellence in a renewed South Africa. Newly appointed CEO Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa is also, for the moment, the only black woman to run a JSE-listed top 40 company... B L Premium This article is reserved for our subscribers. Her father died in 2012 while her … According to Mahanyele, mentorship is an important part of the growth of an economy. Mahanyele was born in Dobsonville, Soweto, South Africa. When doing the black empowerment transaction that we did with Lonmin, we also took on a role with regards to transformation in the organisation. In the 1970s, it was a place of defiance and resistance. That’s how I managed to climb the ladder fast,” she says. Brazil’s Ronaldo is the greatest striker Says – Samuel Eto’o; President Buhari Celebrates Dele Momodu Ovation Founder as He Marks His 60th Birthday; We had to find another way, as we really had nothing to lose. I remember one of my colleagues telling me that they walked into a boardroom and one of the board members assumed she was one of the tea ladies and immediately placed an order…I remember even being on a flight and sitting next to a person I had only read about and he started flirting with me telling me what apartment he could buy me even though I was married,” she recounts.