
<p>So what would a historic pandemic year throw up? Ground-breaking entrepreneurs and thinkers. Our 2021 class of Under 30s are just that: influential creatives, imaginative business owners, innovative techies and gifted sports stars. Celebrating seven years of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list, Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA, speaks to the cover stars headlining the list and representing their cohorts from across the African continent. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Panel Conversation With The 2021 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 Cover Stars" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SOlvp8FTxNM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div><figcaption>Video edited by Chanel Retief </figcaption></figure>



<p>And they are Mihlali Ndamase, a creative and digital influencer from South Africa, Reinhard Mahalie, the founder of RM Fashion Styling in Namibia, Cleo Johnson, the founder of Nuecleo in South Africa, Shakemore Timburwa, the founder of Energy Plus in Zimbabwe, and Antonio Depina, the founder of Overseas Basketball Connection based in Cape Verde.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2021/06/11/class-of-2021-change-makers-in-a-historic-year/">Read more about the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 </a></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51313" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption>Photo by <em>Motlabana Monnakgotla</em></figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-look-out-for">What To Look Out For</h2>



<p>Our FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 curators, Karen Mwendera, Chanel Retief and Simone Umraw will have be in conversation with some of the changemakers who made the Class of 2021 on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/forbesafrica/">Instagram</a>. Stay tuned for more!</p>


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Panel: In Conversation With The 2021 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 Cover Stars


<p><strong>Saray Khumalo shares the humbling and enthralling experience of breaking barriers and summiting some of the world’s highest mountains. &nbsp;</strong></p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Saray Khumalo: &#039;Suddenly, The Clouds Were Beneath Me’" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2YYd6kKoa_g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>In May 2019, Saray Khumalo became the first&nbsp;black African woman to summit Mount Everest.&nbsp;In a recent interview with FORBES AFRICA, Khumalo speaks about her emotional, adrenaline-driven experience getting to its peak. &nbsp;</p>



<p>The South African has also just launched&nbsp;a&nbsp;Malaria&nbsp;No More&nbsp;emergency response&nbsp;campaign called&nbsp;<em>The Bigger Picture Campaign</em>&nbsp;alongside marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge and World Cup winning South African rugby captain Siya Kolisi.&nbsp;With Covid now taking up so much airtime,&nbsp;Khumalo, who has herself had&nbsp;malaria many times growing up, is helping refocus the attention on malaria, as it’s still one of the world’s deadliest diseases and especially in the African context. &nbsp;</p>



<p>Khumalo is also the founder of 7 Summits, an initiative that raises money for underprivileged schools through her climbing, and is now aiming for the Explorers Grand Slam involving summiting all seven of the highest peaks on the seven continents, completing a technical rock climb and reaching the North Pole as well as the South Pole.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With a day job as an executive at Momentum Multiply looking after e-commerce, Khumalo started mountain-climbing in 2012.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48530" width="222" height="222" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503.jpg 720w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503-80x80.jpg 80w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IMG_3503-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px" /><figcaption>Photo: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>In this interview, she says: “I made a commitment to step on top of the highest peak on every continent, but use the journey to raise money for education. And that&#8217;s where the journey started. I&#8217;ve built five libraries. And I&#8217;ve raised money. And it&#8217;s the only way we can change the narrative for the next generation.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>She also speaks of her harrowing experience surviving an earthquake in Nepal in 2015, and returning to summit Mount Everest in 2019, and valuing every breath.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“The higher you go, the more appreciative you become about where we live, and the oxygen and a lot of stuff we take for granted.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“I remember thinking about my mother telling me and my sisters, that ‘the sky&#8217;s the limit’ and suddenly, the clouds were beneath me. I could not see any ground. And also because it was my fourth attempt [climbing Mount Everest], you know, all the people that said I couldn&#8217;t do it, nobody like me had done it before. How wrong they were at the top! &nbsp;</p>



<p>“It&#8217;s just a humbling experience and it also helps you realize how much of a speck we are in the bigger scheme of things.”&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48528" width="388" height="258" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/296135805560457128_928A0540-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" /><figcaption>Photo: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


Tag: Renuka Methil

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Panel: In Conversation With The 2021 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 Cover Stars

‘Suddenly, The Clouds Were Beneath Me’: Why The Sky’s Not The Limit For This African