“It is a white-dominated industry and the market that the insurance brokers service is mostly made up of black people,” according to Digni Financial Services co-founder Thabiso Mamabolo, who said he and his business partner have identified an opportunity to cater for the people who look like them.
Mamabolo, better known as Thabo Maputla on SABC1 soapie Skeem Saam, said his move from acting to business has not been smooth considering how artists are perceived in society.
The businessman from Ga-Mamabolo village in Limpopo said there were many barriers that presented themselves in different forms.
“It was 10 times difficult than getting into arts, because the the reputation of actors in business is not strong, we are notorious for blowing cash on expensive clothes, parties and cars,” he said in an interview with Sunday World recently.
“I needed to have more discipline, capital, compliance and resources to market the business.
“It is not easy to be trusted with people’s cash, so I had to work on my brand to prove that even though I am known for being an actor, I am also a businessman who knows what he is doing.”
Digni Financial Services offer services such as policies, underwriting, employee benefits and health insurance services.
He said his company has started an initiative called “Take a boy child to work day”, where they are engage with the boys to improve their mental state.
“Our initiative will focus on boys only, because there has been a lot of those for girls,” he explained.
“We are looking for the average boys in schools because most of the programmes that happen in schools look for the best performing children, which again neglects every child who is not in that level.
“We want to change perspectives, instill hope and take a different direction altogether.”
He further shared that the intention is to keep the initiative for years and spread it across many parts of the country.
“Schools can reach out to us and let us know of these kind of boys that we are looking to help, because they have access to them and they know their struggles than we do.”
Responding to whether he will be going back to acting anytime soon, Mamabolo said if a good story comes up and the producers are willing to work around his busy schedule, he will be back on television.
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