Tshegofatso Mhlongo, 28

Tshegofatso Mhlongo, 28

Tshegofatso Mhlongo – or Eli Zaelo, as she’s known on stage – is a multilingual singer who performs in English, Mandarin and isiZulu. Her vocal talent has taken her around the world to study at Trinity College London, as well as in the vocal performance department at...
Gcina Dlamini, 34

Gcina Dlamini, 34

University of Johannesburg graduate and University of Howard (Washington, DC) dual degree-holder Gcina Dlamini wants to educate people about South Africa and all that it has to offer through travel. She is the founding owner of Merchantry Worldwide, a high-end travel...
Jameelah Omar, 33

Jameelah Omar, 33

Visiting the University of Cape Town’s upper campus with her parents, neither of whom had had a tertiary education, eight-year-old Jameelah Omar marvelled at its sprawling ivy and decided that she would one day study there — and she did. With bursaries for both her...
Khulekani Ngcobo, 28

Khulekani Ngcobo, 28

Waste management, planting trees, creating awareness and community education on environmental sustainability are just a few of the initiatives driven by Just Green It, a KwaZulu-Natal-based non-profit headed up by Khulekani Ngcobo. While the self-starter says he...
Zilungile Zimela, 32

Zilungile Zimela, 32

When asked what drives her to excel, Zilungile Zimela says: “I am driven by the rural, marginalised and segregated child who does not see beyond the grazing farms and marriage as an immediate attainment of a goal for a girl child.” Zimela was a founding member of the...