Nhlanhla Dlamini

My career-defining moments involved starting long processes with a payoff coming much later. One most important career-defining moment for me was when I realised the power of making the right choices and displaying my risk-taking characteristics.

My experience in the City of Johannesburg (COJ) in the late 1990s involved the restructuring of the institution to avert a financial meltdown.

WB Yeats said, “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold,” which holds a harsh lesson for me. I took my radio broadcasting talent for granted. Because it came so easily, I began not to pay it attention and focused on what others considered important.

Independent from a very young age, I had one life plan, ‘to own my own knives and forks’ and never to rely financially on anyone else. After two years of pursuing a business degree at university, I dropped out.

A defining moment in my career has been the realisation that my purpose as an entrepreneur is far reaching, not just to create jobs and wealth, but also be a leading example of charting a path others can follow, especially women.

As an activist and a businessman, I experienced several defining moments in my career. I completed my MBA at Wits Business School in 1971. I could not find any meaningful employment as the predominantly white corporate business sector would not employ people of colour in senior management positions.