Ruth Wasserman Lande has made history as the second-ever, and only female, South African to be elected to Israel’s top legislative. &nbsp;



When you sit down for coffee with Ruth Wasserman Lande, her warm brown eyes lock onto yours and before we even start the interview, she’s interested in learning more about me. It’s heart-warming – and unusual. It’s not every day a diplomat asks the questions she does and is so genuinely interested in the answers.



But then again Lande is not your everyday politician. She made history this year after becoming the second-ever, and only female, South African to be elected to Israel’s top legislative. The last time a South African served in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) was in the 1960s.



Lande went on to narrowly lose her seat during elections held at the end of March. But in a coalition government announced on Monday, June 14, she re-entered the Knesset.



Born in Israel, Lande was nine when her family moved halfway across the world to her native Cape Town in South Africa. After growing up in a poor Israeli neighborhood where children from all backgrounds – Morocco, Georgia, Russia, Lithuania – played together, she found the “huge houses with huge fences and swimming pools” of South Africa startling. It was 1985 – five years before Nelson Mandela would be released from prison and apartheid begin to be dismantled.



“I saw people locking their fridges and locking their houses. It was shocking for me because in Israel everything was open. Everything was sort of simple there. So the Moroccans were a little more black and the Russians were a little more light and everybody was all sorts of colors. We just didn&#8217;t care. We didn&#8217;t see it. So it impacted me in a very big way as a child that the color a person was could mean he’d be better off economically than another.”



That impact followed her into adulthood.



“I&#8217;m very involved in working with minority groups in Israel, with the less privileged, not only Arabs, but also Jews of lower socio-economic income, people with disabilities, people who are on the autistic spectrum. I think I have a kind of affinity to those who have a more difficult starting point.”



She believes the eight years she spent in South Africa – “a lifetime at that age” &#8211; increased her sense of calling to be active in society. She attributes her excellent English to her South African schooling and also her ability to feel comfortable in very different situations, again useful qualities for women in leadership.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I have a kind of affinity to those who have a more difficult starting point.”</blockquote>



Returning to Israel at the age of 17 to join the Israel Defense Forces as a “lone soldier” – she had no immediate family in Israel – she waitressed on weekends to make ends meet. She served in the intelligence division and rose to captain.



Later, she joined the Foreign Ministry, volunteering to work in Egypt where she became the deputy Israeli ambassador, a post she held for three years. She studied Arabic for eight hours a day and is today fluent.



“I think that Israel is a magnificent nucleus for countries in Africa because there&#8217;s such a pluralism of societies, communities and cultures in Israel that, despite the difficulties and imperfections, everybody can find their place here.&nbsp;Also, the knowledge and expertise that is being exported from Israel in the fields of water, technology and farming to many countries in Africa is something that I am very proud of. It’s important to help, to give, to contribute.”



Lande has two masters’ degrees, one from Harvard University, and also worked as an advisor to former Israeli President Shimon Peres.



“I really believe that what you give, the universe gives back. It doesn’t have to be financial but it has a lot to do with energy. As a member of Knesset, I feel I can be heard more. I care about this country and I want to make the society in it more viable, more equal, better, and maybe that sounds very presumptuous, but I try in my own way.”



– By Paula Slier

IMG-20210427-WA0060

On A Mission Far Away: The South African In The Knesset

Corporates must make a deliberate effort to accelerate the
development of women and appoint them to senior positions, says KG Bako, the
Managing Executive: People and Culture, at Absa Corporate and Investment Bank.
Bako says this will inspire young and up-coming women professionals to have
people to look up to. She feels it is time there are more female chief
executive officers and others in C-Suite positions. 



“I am passionate about women empowerment so I always make sure I am fully hands on when it comes to these matters. I mentor and coach a number of young women professionals, both at CIB and externally. I believe sharing personal stories of our professional journeys does open one’s eyes and empowers them with tools to choose from when faced with challenges. I believe those of us who are in the top have to create a path for the young professionals,” Bako says. “Having someone as your voice in key decision making forums is key and we need to see more and more women being sponsored.”



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/brand-voice/2019/09/10/the-evolution-of-compliance-in-the-banking-sector/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Evolution Of Compliance In The Banking Sector (opens in a new tab)">The Evolution Of Compliance In The Banking Sector</a>



She narrates her own experience rising up the corporate
ladder, where she faced challenges with gender-based stereotypes, where there
were perceptions one could not perform at a certain level simply because you
were a woman. “So most of the time, you are finding yourself having to
repeatedly proving yourself and working twice as hard as your male counterparts
in order to gain recognition,” Bako says. 



She believes your immediate supervisor can have a
significant influence on your career growth, because they are the first point
of reference when you face work challenges. But it is not always that easy,
especially if you are a woman. Being told you are not ready for growth or new
opportunity is one example, when you are denied growth opportunities
deliberately, Bako says. 



“When I engaged my boss at the time, I was very clear what I wanted; I had done a self-assessment, so I knew I was ready. When the response was no, not this year with no explanation, I had to give them the benefit of the doubt, that they don’t know or have all the information required for them to make an informed decision,” Bako continues.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I decided to write a motivation with all the facts (no emotions) that led me to believe I was ready and that changed their perspective.”</blockquote>



Bako says one should take personal charge of their career
growth as no-one is going to do it for you.&nbsp;
She says: “Surround yourself with people who will take you forward.
Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new centre of gravity. As
Oprah Winfrey said, don’t fight them; just find a new way to stand.” 



Bako holds a degree in Social Sciences from Wits University and also a Master of Business Administration General degree from Henley Business School. She believes her career choice was natural because from a young age, she has always been caught between the love for numbers and people.



“The more I worked with people, the more it became clear
where my passion was. When my plan of becoming a Clinical Psychologist was not
realised there was no better place to nurture the love for both worlds than
being a Head of People and Culture in an investment bank,” she says. 



Bako admits many people struggle with striking a balance between work and family, particularly as they rise up the corporate ladder. She believes it requires understanding and concerted effort from all role players; from the employer and the culture within the organisation to family members involved. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/brand-voice/2019/09/11/the-laws-of-impactful-banking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Laws Of Impactful Banking (opens in a new tab)">The Laws Of Impactful Banking</a>



“Firstly, the employer has to be deliberate about an
inclusive culture they create to ensure women are able to have work life
integration. Secondly, the culture you create at home has to align to your
ambitions to excel professionally. The family set up has to support this,
understanding there will be days when you have to put in long hours and someone
has to take care of household chores,” Bako says. 



“With technology these days, you don’t have to be physically
in the office to do your work. Not only is the ease of accessing your emails,
but you can join meetings using technology, again this speaks to the culture of
the workplace. Once you have both worlds set up to enable your ambitions, the
main role player is yourself,” she says. 



Bako advises that one has to be clear about their plans and
know who forms part of your support structure, at home, work or socially. She
believes these structures become useful while you also find time to take care
of yourself, mentally and physically.



“Make time for physical activities, whether it’s the gym or
yoga class whichever works for you. We need to do a better job in putting
ourselves first on our To Do list. It can sometimes be self-inflicted; we need
to get our priorities in order and organise ourselves better,” says the mother
of three daughters. 



Her advice to young women is “If you don’t get out there and
define yourself, you will be quickly and inaccurately be defined by others as
Michelle Obama said.”

People And Culture In The Workplace

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has an iconic status in Africa and the world. As the first elected female head of state in Africa, she served as the leader of Liberia for two elected terms.
Those terms saw Liberia’s slow and steady march from what was considered a pariah state to a country with what the Mo Ibrahim Foundation calls a “trajectory of progress” that has helped transform its economy, survive the shock of Ebola, and restructure public institutions to respond to the needs of the people.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2018/03/02/the-peoples-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The People’s President</a>
It is only fitting that FORBES WOMAN AFRICA gets to meet the Nobel Peace Prize winner in Rwanda, a country known for its high representation of women in Parliament, and where Sirleaf is awarded the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership at a special ceremony.
Q. Please share your thoughts on the African Union (AU) self-funding reform goal, the Kaberuka Proposal. 
The dependency of the AU on external sources has been the subject of debate for many years, and the thinking of our leaders is that it is better to finance our operations by ourselves and alleviate pressure and dictation from these external sources. On the other hand, we know that to have financial autonomy, every country must be able to contribute consistently. So, the crux of the reform is to change the payment formula and make sure everyone knows they have to pay their part.
When it comes to the Kaberuka suggestion, it meets our objective of financing our organization ourselves. However, it does place a burden on the poorer states&#8230; So, our position with the Kaberuka plan is to study it some more so when we commit, we do not fall into arrears. We want to see the reform implemented, and for it to include cost-reduction in structural aspects such as travel and positions etc., thus reducing the burden on poorer countries.
Q: Will Africa really be able to tackle illicit financial flows? And with women being conspicuously absent from financial decision-making, yet being the greatest losers on such issues, how do we tackle these discrepancies? 
We have to become more accountable and pass stringent mandates in institutions, as well as instill practical capacity to understand the complexities of these financial transactions. Also, we must implement a legal system that will enforce against such flow violations.
Access for women is difficult even in the case of legitimate flows. Even with a growing manufacturing sector and agri-industrial activities usually manned by women, access is still limited, for rural women particularly.
There is a big effort being put in by different regional institutions; in Liberia’s case, GIABA, the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, has been analyzing the flows and determining what is illicit. 
But it is up to women to stand up and put other women in leadership roles, because the record is clear: women are more credit-worthy when it comes to financial transactions, and this suggests the more women there are heading these institutions, the more we can be assured that regulatory laws will be more effective.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/06/08/womens-leadership-is-under-attack-globally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: &#8216;Women’s Leadership Is Under Attack Globally’</a>
Q: What are your plans? How would you encourage young women to follow in your footsteps, or even create their own path? 
We are establishing the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. The activities will center around five themes that will promote women in business; women in leadership; women in fragile states; women in migration; and education for women and girls. We will use the life experiences of women who have excelled in these areas. For the young women, I say to all, be self-confident and pursue your goals&#8230;Let us be bold as women.
&#8211; Interviewed by Laura Rwiliriza

UN-GENERAL ASSEMBLY-LIBERIA

First African Elected Female Head of State Urges Women to Be Bold

Every year, South Africa celebrates Women’s Month in August, commemorating the 1956 protest against pass laws that saw 20,000 women march to the grounds of the Union Buildings in the country’s capital Pretoria.
In the run-up to Women’s Month, it was fitting that the African Union (AU) summit in June was held in Johannesburg around the theme, ‘Women’s Empowerment and Development Towards Africa’s Agenda 2063’. The AU has declared 2015 as the year of women’s empowerment.
At the opening ceremony of the summit, Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe and current Chairperson of the AU, lauded the African woman.
“Whenever I think of the virtues and the indomitable spirit that epitomizes the African woman, I am reminded of the heroines across the African continent who stood up against the forces of colonialism and occupation,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA after the summit, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the first female chairperson of the AU Commission, also a former South African home affairs minister, spoke about a new campaign.  She wants to replace the hoe (implement used in agriculture) with a motorized tiller.
“The women on this continent are unique in many ways. They really are the drivers of communities, of families, they are the curators of our culture… During our consultations to put together Agenda 2063 [a 50-year vision for Africa] and especially the first 10-year plan, we were told by women farmers that Agenda 2063 will mean nothing to them if they have to continue using the hoe. And it threw a big challenge to us; the more we looked at how women worked with the hoe, we realized it is actually like a symbol of poverty and symbol of submission too. We thought ‘they are right, how have we let it go for so long?’&#8230; So we decided to start this campaign to drive the hoe away, into the museum really, until there is no woman forced to use it.”
At the summit, the AU handed out tillers to each of the 54 African countries present “just to show it can be done”.
“But we think it will actually bring a different dynamic to agriculture because young people were not willing to go into agriculture. But once they see it is technology they can use, and they can use working upright, standing tall and proud, I think the tillers will restore the dignity of African women and change the image of African women farmers,” says Dlamini-Zuma.
Next on the cards for the AU is developing Africa’s blue economy. Dlamini-Zuma says water is a hugely ignored resource.
“Africa has actually neglected the fact that it’s almost like a big island with smaller islands – 32 of the 54 countries are either coastal or island states. We need to now develop the blue economy as part of the broader economy. We have developed the first maritime strategy.”
On July 25, in Addis Ababa, the AU launched the 2015-2025 Decade of African Seas and Oceans. Plans are on to build capacity and impart training in this sector.
“We want to look at maritime transport and see if it can have shipping vessels that fly African flags from African countries, and [in] time, see that the people employed are also from Africa. Because we are a continent with lots of young people, this is the one industry we can open and create jobs for our young people over the next 10 years, besides the revenue it can bring. We are also looking at aquaculture that can create jobs and food for the continent, but from the onset, we want to look at the environment and make sure we keep our oceans clean as we try and develop the industry.”
Tourism, both coastal and floating (cruise liners), will also be a big component of the blue economy.

The Woman To Put  Poverty Into Museums

More than five years ago, she found herself on the wrong side of history when South Africa’s ruling party opted for leaders whom it believed would be more connected to the country’s poor and working class.
But now Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who has been in the background since then, has been appointed as a leader of the world’s largest bureaucracy, the United Nations (UN).
For the next four years, she will serve as the executive director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, known colloquially as UN Women.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-5747" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2013-Oct-054-057-CA-Phumzile-001-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
“It’s always been a defining feature for me, that if anything works, it must work for women. I have always known that this is my benchmark and I must get there as quickly as possible… If I cannot facilitate change, God forbid!” she says.
The body, which was formed in 2010, is tasked with promoting women’s rights and their participation in global affairs. UN Women can boast some successes, such as helping women gain seats in seven national elections, and reforming laws and policies in 26 countries to increase women’s access to economic assets and social protection.
But Mlambo-Ngcuka has her work cut out for her. Although there are calls, which she supports, to develop a stand-alone UN goal to achieve gender equality, the organization faces serious challenges, including inadequate funding.
Also, in a time when the world has to deal with economic uncertainty, more than often, budget cuts negatively affect the progress of women and entrench gender inequalities.
Mlambo-Ngcuka joins a list of women who were shining stars in former South African president Thabo Mbeki’s cabinet and have since left the country to take up international positions&#8230; Mlambo-Ngcuka, African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and special envoy on gender at the African Development Bank, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, could all, arguably, in their own right lead South Africa.
However, the experience Mlambo-Ngcuka gained while she served in government, and her well-known
tenacity, will now be put to use on the global stage.
She insists Africa will be a priority, but not at the expense of other regions.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-5745" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2013-Oct-054-057-CA-Phumzile-003-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
“When you think about Africa, the first thing that comes to your mind is poverty. And yet there’s a lot of good things in Africa… I want for us to start picturing a different Africa and bring forward that Africa does have resources. That there is a fighting spirit that we need to harness,” she says.
Mlambo-Ngcuka is not alone in her approach. For far too long, Africa has been depicted as the begging bowl of the world , a perception that Dlamini-Zuma also wants to remedy.
Mlambo-Ngcula says she plans to work closely with Dlamini-Zuma, as well as Africa’s two women presidents, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from Liberia and Malawi’s Joyce Banda.
“I would want to go to these women on the issues I’m going to be pushing forward as they relate to Africa. I actually want to harness their stature and the influence they have to make a push. Also, I will need them in working with the other leaders in Africa.”
There are strategic countries on the continent whose buy-in Mlambo-Ngcuka will have to get, such as Nigeria, with its wealth of powerful and influential women.
Women across the world face a multitude of challenges, which change in severity depending on where they live and what their social standing is. Mlambo-Ngcuka believes that if she can improve the quality of education and reproductive health, her time at the UN will not have been wasted.
“One of the things that is uniquely disabling sometimes to women, is failure to address their reproductive health. Women have an unwanted baby when they are not ready to support the child. You trigger inter-generational poverty and the life of that woman comes to a standstill. So allowing women to reach their full potential without having to deal with the responsibility of having a family they have not planned for, is, for me, very important.”
Mlambo-Ngcuka took office in August 2013 and has a number of initial ideas on how she will improve UN Women. When her predecessor, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, resigned to focus on politics, she was criticized in some quarters for not leaving much of a legacy. Some of this was blamed on her role being confined to raising awareness about women’s living conditions and UN Women having no executive powers.
“I don’t want to be all gung-ho right at the beginning, and maybe create that vibe for myself, but really, I am also concerned. I cannot leave my country to be a token. We need to do something that is destiny-changing for women.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5746" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2013-Oct-054-057-CA-Phumzile-004-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
“In my discussions with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, he made it very clear it is important that we make an impact on women. I am hoping that I can lean on him and when it turns out actually that there isn’t scope for that, I can go and speak to him.”
Mlambo-Ngcuka’s strategy is not to reinvent the wheel, but to build on what people are currently doing. Her aim is to give UN Women a much stronger presence and make sure that women’s issues are more visible.
“I want to make sure women are in your face… I just feel our voice is a bit muzzled, a bit timid. And I feel that this is one time where you want to lead from the front.”

SA’s global citizen: The new head of UN Women wants to redefine the world for women.

My passion is Africa. My focus is to impact Africa, positively, through sustainable infrastructure, skills development, technology transfer, the empowerment of women and education.
I was raised in post-independence Africa, shattered by coups and dictators, by a single mother—a strong, independent, optimistic, selfless and loving African woman. She made many sacrifices to ensure that my brother and I received the best education and exposure to the world so as to grow into leaders. My mother pushed me to be the best I could be, helped build my confidence, nurtured my sense of purpose and grounded me in spirituality, which allows me not to fear failure. This historical time and my upbringing nurtured in me a strong consciousness of the role I must play in Africa. My motto is: “Dream big and execute bigger!”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2036" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Swaady-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />
For many years, and to this day, I worked 15-18 hour days—nothing great is achieved without hard work and 200% commitment. I am realistic and know that success doesn’t fall from the sky.
In 2010, I wanted to build a company. My skeptics thought I was crazy to leave a successful corporate career but it was a natural evolution of my career, and personal aspirations. However, setting up a company with limited means would be a different ballgame. I gave myself 18 months to make the transition from the corporate to the entrepreneurial world. During that time, I completed an executive MBA.
I did my homework, held focus groups, traveled for research, met with potential suppliers and created a 200-page business plan for Yswara, a luxurious tea brand. Then, I worked my butt off to make things happen.
As an African female entrepreneur, you face three challenges: namely challenges every entrepreneur faces regardless of gender and geography; challenges you face as an African entrepreneur and challenges you face as a female entrepreneur. Some of my greatest challenges were: not being taken seriously, access to finance, encountering the lack of skills and proper infrastructure, as well as balancing business and family.
At first, people did not take Yswara seriously; it was viewed as a hobby. The lack of potential investors’ confidence made it difficult to access finance, and the lack of seed financing and angel networks is an issue in Africa, but it is even more challenging for women. I had savings and the support of family and friends, who invested $280,000 in the project. This was just enough to get the business off the ground. Now that there is a global market for our product, we are raising money to finance our ambitious expansion plan. It’s not easy: there are too many female-owned businesses that have not grown beyond their potential because of lack of capital.
Balancing business and family remains a challenge for women; pregnancy, childbirth and infant care affect women in ways they don’t affect men. Running a household and caring for a family are time-consuming and demand a great deal. Often, female entrepreneurs are torn between commitment to the family and their business.
Despite all these setbacks, women need to persevere, and change societal perceptions that both can’t be done well. They should turn these challenges into sources of strength.
Fortune 500 estimates that only 1% of CEOs at the world’s top 500 companies are women. In Africa, this percentage is probably halved. Women should pursue leadership roles to challenge the status quo. I wish to empower Africans, especially women, to believe in themselves and understand that there are no limits to what can be achieved by applying the mind and working smart.
Women tend to be prisoners of their fears, spend too much time on the past or merely dreaming about the future, they forget to make the most of the present. Women must create a compelling vision for their life; own it; define the roadmap to execution; and drive the energies, talents and values necessary for success. As an entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to execute plans, solve problems and energize teams. Building a venture from scratch is not for the faint hearted, you need to be courageous, tenacious, perseverant and resilient. Never take no for an answer and always be solution-oriented.

How To steep A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

There is no air of self-importance surrounding the co-founder and CEO of Nkonki Inc., Sindi Zilwa. In fact, if you did not know her, you would walk past her without a second glance.
Born 45 years ago in the city of Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape Province, she has come a long way to become one of the most important women in South Africa’s corporate world. Zilwa’s dream was to see more black women become chartered accountants (CAs).
“I lost sleep over the fact that I was the second women to become a CA,” she says.
Nonkululeko Gobodo, executive chairperson of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, was the first and because they came from the same city it was inevitable they partnered to form Filtane Nkonki Accounting Consultancy in Mthatha.
But before she opened the consultancy, Zilwa had pursued her dream of producing more black chartered accountants by lecturing at the University of South Africa (Unisa) and the then University of Transkei (Unitra).
“I was in a hurry to see more black CAs but the people I wanted to see qualifying were not in a hurry, there was a misalignment.”
“I was so sad when I marked the scripts and realized that no one with an ambition to become a CA was willing to work hard for it. Others wished to become CAs but they didn’t do what it costs to become a CA,” says Zilwa.
Zilwa had come from the same poverty stricken background—her mother was a hawker—as her students and was not willing to take any excuses.
“Based on that I said, ‘Let me try to use my time in some other way’. So, I decided to concentrate on my practice.”
That practice was established in late 1992 when Zilwa moved back to Mthatha after leaving Deloitte in Johannesburg. Three years later, the two partners decided to go their separate ways.
“If the car you are driving from here, Johannesburg, to Butterworth, a town near Mthatha, continuously gets tire punctures, you need to make a decision whether you want to continue with that car. For me reaching Butterworth, the destination, was more important; I just had to find another vehicle,” she says.
That vehicle came in the form of her brother, Mzi Nkonki, who was working as a chartered accountant in East London. The siblings joined heads and formed Nkonki&amp;Nkonki in 1996. It was clear that Zilwa—whose maiden name was Nkonki before she married lawyer Sivuyile Zilwa—would become the CEO.
“When we won a contract worth R5 million ($565,000) from the Bisho government to do their audits, we really felt our confidence grow,” says Zilwa.
In 1998, 31-year-old Zilwa caused waves when she was voted Businesswoman of the Year by the Businesswoman Association of South Africa. The hard work was paying off and the partners decided to expand nationwide.
Nkonki Sizwe and Ntsaluba accounting firms joined hands to form the first national black-owned accounting firm, NkonkiSizweNtsaluba. Zilwa was the CEO of the joined entity. This relationship lasted for six years before it was disbanded. Interestingly, Nonkululeko Gobodo has since replaced Nkonki as part of SizweNtsalubaGobodo.
“At brand level we did well but at administration level we didn’t do so well. I could only share in the liabilities and profits in the Eastern Cape but where I was based, in Johannesburg, I didn’t get anything,” says Zilwa.
The Nkonki siblings decided to revert back to working alone after another short-lived joint partnership.
“We made a commitment never to burn our fingers again. When you merge you move ten steps forward but if it does not work you move twenty steps back. I think that was the problem,” she says.
Today, Nkonki Inc. has more than 55 partners and directors based in the country’s major cities, with 300 staff and a turnover of around R60 million ($6,7 million). Although it is a thriving business which counts, amongst others, South African Airways, Hernic Ferrochrome and Eskom as clients; the company still experiences many challenges.
“As a black firm you are more inclined to get public sector work because you get more support from there. All the medium-sized firms are owned by the white middle class so they tend to get private sector business more,” she says.
Never one to back down from a challenge, instead of complaining the mother of two shows that she is a solutions-driven person.
The first time she opened her accounting firm, Zilwa wrote to the then Reserve Bank governor, Tito Mboweni, to tell him about the challenges faced by black accounting firms.
“I always aspired to audit a bank because that is an intellectual hub of knowledge, so I wrote to him because of the conditions.”
“Companies wanted you to have 10 years of partner experience but none of us had that experience. Where would you have been a partner for 10 years back then?” she asks.
This was to be the beginning of her other career as a member of a number of boards including Aspen, Woolworths, PRIMEDIA and the Billion Group.
“The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank gave me call and said I should come up to Johannesburg to meet him. That really opened doors for me,” she says.
The first board she sat on was the Wiphold Group, which was once listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Currently, she is making waves as part of the high performing Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, led by FORBES AFRICA Person of the Year nominee, Stephen Saad, which he started with deputy CEO, Gus Attridge.
“She is an extremely warm-hearted person with a great sense of humor, which makes her instantly likeable. I admire her career and personal achievements as a person who has reached the heights of her profession when she was afforded no privileges in her upbringing or early education,” says Attridge.
Zilwa has come a long way from being instructed by her brother to study accounting to being a leader in the accounting industry.

Tag: Empowerment

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

On A Mission Far Away: The South African In The Knesset

People And Culture In The Workplace

First African Elected Female Head of State Urges Women to Be Bold

The Woman To Put Poverty Into Museums

SA’s global citizen: The new head of UN Women wants to redefine the world for women.

How To steep A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

Never Let A Puncture Slow You Down