Mabena rides wave of creativity

Young and versatile entrepreneur, Sibu Mabena is a shining example that when you live towards fulfilling your dreams, all is possible as you can go beyond to reach for the stars.

While studying political science and international relations at the University of Pretoria, Mabena diverted into dynamic creative space due to her creativity and vision.

Born 31 years ago in Johannesburg, she took an initiative to establish her own PR and multimedia business, Duma Collective in 2017.

Her Johannesburg-based company specialises in creative communication through connecting brands to their intended target audience.

The company focuses on brand strategy, public relations, event management, talent management, social and digital media activations as well as multimedia production.

Mabena who is an award-winning businesswoman, as she recently won the Prestigious Inverroche Future Is Female Award, said that her achievement was an affirmation of what her business success is believed to be, through building a dream that will forever be embraced by generations to come.

She said that through her passion, she knew that she was destined for success as she had been pushing hard to build her company in order to resonate with her vision.

“As a young entrepreneur with ambitions, I believed in my craft and also realised that I had what it takes to get into this space due to my passion and dedication.

“I could have gone a different route to follow other things, but I knew that the creative space was broader and more had many opportunities for me, hence I took a direction of communication and production,” said Mabena.

As she started as a freelancer in the communication and media space, Mabena said that she invested cash she made in her part-time gigs to fund her business, which is today employing 40 fulltime staff members while her company also empowers 150 freelancers on a month-to-month basis.


Duma Collective clientele footprint reaches as far as the USA and Middle East, and she said she is grateful to the dedicated team she works with to have reached such a milestone.

“Duma Collective brand is focused on campaigns, conceptualising and producing TV commercials and promos, events, social media and digital
activations, marketing strategies and PR and communication campaigns.

We are experienced in the art of balancing entertainment value with measurable business impact.”

Through her vision of taking Duma Collective to new frontiers, she said that she is optimistic building a legacy for herself towards making moves where she will be up there competing with top companies as a way of reaching for success and greatness.

“We are on our five year anniversary, and we are currently taking Duma Collective to the next level with the vision of achieving best in the business,” she said.

With the constant changes in the industry, she said she stayed relevant by being innovative, while researching new trends and ways of making her business a force to be reckoned with.

The PR company has a wide range of clients, which include the likes of Multichoice, Showmax, NBA Africa, Heineken SA, Toyota Financial Services, DGB, Drip Footwear among others.

“What makes us different from our competitors is our passion and obsession with greatness, agility and affordability. We are on an oasis were African creativity flourishes.”

When it comes to aligning the company with different brands and people, Mabena said they achieved that by being customer-centric.

“Our service provision is based on the needs of the different clients we service. Our mission remains steadfast through being innovative. We remain true to this, regardless of which client we provide service for.”

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