Who is Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, and what has her mission been in this world?
She answers the question in various ways, but most prominently, she says the traits that account for her success in the business world, and in life generally, relate “to my faith and hard work”.
“I remember as a child, my late father would wake us up early in the morning, every Sunday, with my sibling to prepare to go to church. The strange thing, though, as I reflect today, is that he himself would not be part of what he demanded of us. He always stayed behind as we made our way to church services,” says Mahanyele-Dabengwa.
“The routine helped form and shaped my life and character. I lead a prayerful life, an aspect which is central to my life. It is important that parents support their children, helping them to make the right choices, and to make certain they see the value of wanting to attend school.”
Born in 1971 in Dobsonville, Soweto, Mahanyele-Dabengwa is highly regarded in business circles. She was appointed CEO of Naspers South Africa in July 2019, becoming the company’s first female in that position.
Of Naspers, Mahanyele-Dabengwa says: “Naspers has been completely transformed, 76% black-led of which 66% is female leadership. It has not alwaysbeen that way, but certainly Naspers has definitely made huge strides in transforming itself to be what it has become today, with bursary schemes, and Naspers Labs, a project that provides digital skills to young people,” she says.
Her journey in business has been long and phenomenal. In the early 2000s, she joined Shanduka Energy, a company formed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, as managing director, and would later become CEO of
Shanduka Group, resigning in 2016 to form her own company, Sigma Capital.
More than a decade ago, she was included in The Wall Street Journal as among the top 50 businesswomen in the world, recognised also by Africa Investors as the leading African businesswoman in Africa in 2012, and earned in 2014 the All Africa Business Leaders Award.
She holds a BA degree in economics from the US and an MBA from De Montford University in the UK, and completed the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Executive programme, among others.
Sakhumzi Foundation honours Soweto icons
Despite all real or imagined challenges facing the country, black communities have nothing but their bootstraps by which they need to pull themselves out of all trying circumstances, including any rut that impedes progress.
That message seemed to have been a recurring theme at an event hosted by Sakhumzi Foundation, in which the organisation commits itself to honour 50 Soweto icons – women and men – who are respected business leaders in the country, specifically in Soweto.
On Thursday, the spotlight fell on Phuthi Mahanyele-Debengwa – the fourth Soweto businessperson to be honoured since the inception of the 50 Soweto Icons project initiated by businessman and founder of Sakhumuzi Restaurant Sakhumuzi Maqubela.
The restaurant is situated along the famous Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto – home to two Nobel Peace prize winners, late president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who both had an indelible social justice impact on the political life of the country.
Conferring the certificate of honour on Mahanyele-Debengwa, Maqubela said: “Our children do not have role models; we don’t have role models, yet there are many role models born in Soweto, but who now live in various suburbs such as Sandton.”
Mahanyele-Debengwa joins the list of three other Sowetans – singer and businesswoman Yvonne Chaka Chaka; businessman, motivational speaker and author Dr David Molapo; and actor and businessman Sello Maake-kaNcube.
She is a powerhouse in business circles, currently serving as chief executive of Naspers South Africa, the first black female executive to have achieved this feat.
Maqubela said there was no need to leave the country, and emigrate, stating “we all need to commit to saving this country, and pick ourselves up”.
“If you run away, you go to France, you will find racism there. The world over has difficulties of one sort or another.
“To those who says, ‘we are eating’, the message to them should be that of great outrage. No one should ‘eat’ while others go hungry. The message should rather be we should all work hard to save our country,” Maqubela said.
In reply, Mahanyele-Debengwa, said she was happy for Maqubela, and his business at Vilakazi Street, which is making a significant impact as an hospitality entity.
“I came back from the United States to make a difference in my country. Let us create a different future for our children,” she said.
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