19. Nelisiwe Masango
Vital Stats:
- Business: Bear Run Investments
- Established: 2013
Up-and-coming fact:
A Pursuit of Happyness movie marathon saw Masango abandoning her dreams of becoming a brain surgeon, despite qualifying, and going down the path of investment. Starting her business with no capital taught her the value of networking and money management.
In 2017 she was awarded the Frost & Sullivan African Growth Innovation & Leadership Award alongside founder and CEO of Discovery, Adrian Gore. She represented South Africa at the 2017 World Forum for Responsible Economy in Lille France, discussing how entrepreneurship and financial literacy are required to build and sustain an effective global economy. Masango has expanded her business interests by launching recruitment agency Gentle Hands Agency and ‘FeFine’ (Females with Finances). She also plans on starting her own charity, which she anticipates will require her to become a dollar millionaire – something she says she’s working on.