5 Entrepreneurs Playing Key Roles In Growing South Africa’s Economy
5 Entrepreneurs playing key roles in growing South Africa’s economy. The economy is ever changing but the ultimate goal is to expand and build a lucrative economy that will sustain its people.
A number of businesses sprout everyday but not all of them can have solid impacts on society. Here is a list of 5 entrepreneurs who are making power moves towards better shaping the South African economy;
1.Rivoningo Mhlari
Rivoningo Mhlari, is the co-founder and CEO of Rikatec, which has created a technology that uses predictive analytics to keep vehicles on the road. Rikatec’s information management system provides real-time predictive maintenance for vehicle fleets, while monitoring driving habits, wear and tear, and breakdown detection. Rivoningo was listed as one of ten young African technology entrepreneurs to look out for by IT News Africa.
Nneile Nkholise
Nneile Nkholise has already founded two start-ups and taken on key roles in not-for-profit organisations. A mechanical engineer by background, Nneile set up biotech company iMed Tech in April 2015 after carrying out a research topic in which she used 3D printing to create facial prosthesis for people who lose facial features due to cancer.
Her Johannesburg-based company specialized in using technology to create medical designs that could fill the gap of a growing prosthetic demand in South Africa and she received funding after winning the SAB Foundation social innovation award. Nneile, has left iMed Tech and established 3DIMO, a sport tech company that aims to optimize injury detection and prevention using athlete-specific orthopedic bio-mechanics data.
Darlene Menzies
Darlene is currently CEO of Finfind, an online platform that helps start-ups find funding. Launched in 2015, it now has more than 120,000 users and has facilitated more than 90,000 loan leads for SME lenders. Her recognition from the World Economic Forum came 16 years after she left her corporate job in IT outsourcing to venture into the world of business.
It wasn’t an easy journey, however, as Darlene started six companies and got liquidated three times before she found success. Other businesses she set up included The Development House and SMEasy Business Software – both tech firms aimed at the small business and start-up market.
Vusi Thembekwayo
For almost two decades now, Vusi Thembekwayo has traveled the world as a business speaker, and seems to be the most sought-after from Africa. Alongside his role in coaching others, he has achieved plenty of success as an entrepreneur and business leader in his own right.
By the age of 25, he was running a 400m rand (£22m) division in a 17bn rand (£930m) company and was later among the youngest directors of a listed company in South Africa. He now serves on several boards and is CEO of boutique investment firm My Growth Fund and IC Knowledge Bureau, which helps businesses create better leaders, strategies and working cultures.
Basetsana Kumalo
The 1994 Miss South Africa winner and Miss World runner-up, Basetsana Kumalo has transitioned from beauty pageantry to business. She became one of the country’s youngest black female directors after becoming a joint shareholder of Tswelopele Productions – which later listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange – in 1995.
She remains executive chairwoman and has gone on to become a board member at numerous other companies involved in diamond mining, coal mining, property and travel management. Basetsana also launched her own clothing, eye-wear and cosmetics range, called Bassie, which was stocked in more than 250 stores in the Sub-Saharan region.
